Necessary Justifed Crime
by AmarieN
Summary: Voldemort is in control and it seems nothing can stop him. Hermione is trying her best to survive through imprisonment, being on the run, and being alone. But what happens when someone she trusted turncoats and when someone she never trusted turns out to be the good guy? Win or lose in the end she isn't sure if she'll make it out alive. M content. Dark themes. HG/RW HG/DM HP/GW
1. A Battle to Lose

**Author's Note:** So this is a story that has been on my mind for quite some time. I think I started writing it over a year ago now. I'm done with Part One of the story which is 13 chapters. So basically everything in the books is the same until the battle begins in DH. This story will deal with some dark themes and sensitive subjects ( I'll have this warning in every chapter but just a heads up.) Also the romance side of the story is light and won't come into play until later chapter and even then it isn't the main focus of the story so you've been warned. This is an M rated story, I'm going to play it safe and say that rating applies to every chapter. The story will follow Hermione through the *spoiler* years of war post Battle of Hogwarts. Some characters may seem slightly OOC but there is a reasoning for every character change and hopefully that will come across through the writing.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter, the Harry Potter characters, or any place within the Harry Potter Universe. I am not making any money off this story and it's only meant to be fun. Nor do I own any of the quotes being used at the beginning of chapters.

* * *

**Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime." -Ernest Hemingway.**

* * *

**May 2nd, 1998**

**"Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die." Herbert Hoover**

Hermione leaned to her left as she tried to walk down the hallway. Her wand had snapped during her last fight and the only thing she could think of was getting out of the castle. She wondered if she could get away with hobbling through the castle without fear of a battle. She was unrecognizable after so many fights with Death Eaters. There was a chance no one would even realize she was a No. 1 Desirable.

Her hair was matted down with her own blood; the only sign of her trademark bush was around her shoulders where her hair ended. The open wound at the top of her head was still oozing blood down the right side of her face. Her left eye was swollen shut and nearly doubled in size. There were several noticeable gashes across her body. Her right ankle seemed to be twisted, or possibly broken. The only reason she could still walk had to be the sheer need to get out, there was no other explanation.

The Death Eater she had just fought lay dead on the ground behind her as she walked away from the scene. Hermione couldn't feel proud of herself for surviving and she couldn't even manage to feel disgusted to have killed a man with her bare hands. It seemed as if the moment her wand snapped all her emotions had frozen. She went through the motions of trying to get close enough to fight or far enough to run away. When she finally took a moment to look around at the situation the man she had pinned to the ground was taking his last breath, which she had rung from his body.

Her tennis shoes stuck to the ground with each step as the blood became sticky beneath her feet. Her head was pounding and her ears were ringing. She hadn't heard any noise since she went numb and panic started to set in that she might be deaf. But as she limped away her thoughts rang out loud and clear in her head.

_"Not so brave without a wand are you, mudblood?"_

_Hermione had dodged a spell, rolling over on her ankle. She gasped for air as a pain shot through her body. Her first fear was that she had been hit with a curse but as she kept rolling she realized it was her ankle screaming at her. She managed to find cover but only just before the Death Eater blew the wall to pieces. _

_"Come out and play, mudblood. We can play the dirty way, the way your savages were raised. Think you can beat me without your wand?"_

_Hermione still refused to move. She didn't want to fight him, didn't want to die. But the moment he caught up to her hiding place he turned to look at her a crazed look in his eye. She noticed his wand wasn't in his hand and thought to herself that perhaps that was what he meant by fighting the dirty way. As if it was an instinct her hand balled into a fist and swung out hitting him in the throat with all the power she could. _

Hermione couldn't be sure what had happened after that, only the fact that she had gotten banged up and a Death Eater had the life strangled out of him. Limping through the halls she prayed, willing God to send her some relief and make her come across a friend. Making her way through the castle injured would take a great deal of time she wasn't sure if she had. She could only manage to limp, her vision was impaired by her swollen eye, her right eye was a struggle to open as blood caused her eyelashes to stick together, and she had no wand. She was certain that if she met an enemy she would be doomed.

She wasn't even certain where she was within the castle. The place she had once considered a home seemed completely unfamiliar to her. It was dark and dank, blood occupied a vast majority of the floors and walls, but above all else Hogwarts had now seen real death. Hermione didn't want to discount Myrtle or Dumbledore in anyway, but the deaths that had occupied since she, Harry, and Ron stepped foot into the castle that night had been horrendous.

When she finally managed to find her way to the staircases they were frozen in place. She had read once in Hogwarts, A History that the stairs controlled themselves and picked by their own choice when to move. She couldn't help but think the stairs knew a battle was no time to play games. Hermione leaned her left arm on the rail as she tried to take a step. Each small movement down the stairs was killing her body.

She sighed thankfully when she realized she had only been on the second floor. Remembering slowly that she had been separated from Harry and Ron during their run to the common grounds Hermione made outside her destination. The Grand Entry which had once impressed her beyond all means now felt dark and cruel, she knew just outside the doors her classmates were dying.

The grounds were loud with the cries of battle. While Hermione was devastated as she assessed the fields she couldn't help but be grateful that she could hear. Everyone around her seemed to be in their own world, paired up good versus evil in fights. It was only when someone fell to the ground that the victor looked for a new opponent. Hermione did her best to avoid the fighting, knowing that in such an open area she stood no chance without her wand.

Her goal was to find Harry, to find Ron, and get the hell out of Hogwarts. After being beaten up by a Death Eater she was not afraid to admit that they were not ready. She couldn't even call running away cowardly, it was merely the smartest strategy. If the three of them could regroup they would have a fighting chance. They only needed to kill the snake and then kill Voldemort but they had thrown themselves into battle without clear heads or any preparation.

A spell just barely missed her head as she tried walking through the crowd. Part of her wanted to stand tall and attempt fighting but her rational side made her keep moving. She dodged her way through groups trying to hide herself from whoever had attempted attacking her.

A flash of red passed her and her eye lit up, assuming it was Ronald running by. She couldn't help but feel disappointed when she saw it was Ginny. Young innocent Ginny, fighting a battle that was far too difficult for her to deal with, it was far too hard for Hermione to deal with. They were only children, young kids pretending to be grown ups in order to stop the bad guys.

"Expelliarmus!" she heard the cry of her best friend.

She turned her head as quickly as she could manage to find the source of the yell. She knew in her heart it had to be Harry. He was the only person who would be using a disarming spell in the middle of war. Though it was better than dodging and running, she thought to herself with a small pang in her heart. When she turned to her right she saw him, back to back with Ron fighting off Death Eaters left and right. They looked like they were in their element; the former misfits had found their place on the battlefield.

Harry stunned his opponent and Hermione used the opportunity to approach. Maneuvering through the crowds of fighters she managed to catch his attention. His wand went up to meet her; Hermione raised her arms weakly trying not to pass out from the pain and wooziness. Harry seemed to realize his mistake quickly and lowered his wand as he ran towards her not bothering to look around him.

"Hermione, what happened to you?" he asked worrying laced in every word.

"'ost my 'and" Hermione tried to speak but found forming the words to be difficult.

Harry's eyes widened in fear as he realized his best friend was in the middle of a battlefield completely defenseless. Each second another Death Eater was winning a fight, or a stunned Death Eater was overpowering the stun, every moment they became less safe. Her wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist and tried to steady her as she leaned against him.

Hermione wanted to chastise him about focusing on his own safety but didn't want to waste the energy. Every moment that passed by she felt woozier and found it harder to keep her eyes open. Harry seemed to realize how much she was struggling as he made his way back to Ron, who had just barely won his fight as he stunned the Death Eater in front of him.

Hermione reached out for Ron, letting go of Harry's embrace. Both of her hands clutched onto his shirt, which was dirtied and ripped. She knew if she could she would cry, but tears were physically impossible. Instead she moaned a heartbreaking sound as she pulled at his shirt.

"Go, we gotta go." She wished she could form real sentences, wished she could make her argument but speaking was hard enough.

"Mione, are you nuts we can't leave everyone here. My family is here fighting, I can't just run away. You can do it Hermione, just be strong and fight."

"Ron, look at her she can hardly stand!" Harry bellowed over the noise around them. "Do what she says, we need to get her to safety."

"Lose, gotta win." Hermione tried to get her point across.

She knew that if they stayed much longer everyone would be killed. They needed to stay alive to have even a shred of hope for winning the war in the long run. The three of them were the figureheads for the good side, if they were killed in this battle because they weren't prepared there would be no one.

Hermione was trying to open her eye as much as possible but as she spoke the world around her seemed to be growing darker. Her eye slid closed, as if to match her swollen one. She could feel her weight dropping. It was as if she no longer had control.

"I've got you." She heard Harry say as she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Hermione could barely move as she started to wake up. It was less of a physical impairment and more the overwhelming dread of where she might be. When she had last been aware her comrades were falling all around her, she had seen little hope for them to win the battle. Passing out in the middle of losing a war could never end well.

She tried not to groan as she shifted slightly on the hard ground but the sound won. She felt a hand take hers squeezing it as if life depending on holding her hand.

"Hermione, are you awake?" it was Harry's voice.

She groaned in response, not sure if she could open her mouth to respond. He squeezed her hand tighter at her response. Hermione could hear him choking back tears. Though his attempts to hold back his emotions cleared failed when she felt a small drop of water hit her arm.

"Ron, she's waking up!" Hermione could hear something in the background, a movement or a grumble, "Ron, I'm serious move your ass."

There was more silence as Hermione carefully listened to the movement that seemed far away. She assumed she was listening to Ron walk over to where Harry was sitting over her body. She could hear the snap of twigs and the rustle of leaves as he moved closer to them.

Hermione did her best to open her eyes and was surprised when very little effort was needed. Her first assumption was that Harry must have healed her wounds but when she went to move her body and felt pain overtake her she knew that assumption was wrong.

"Careful, you're pretty banged up. Your face is looking better though, besides the gash." Harry smiled half heartedly.

Hermione wasn't sure if she was supposed to be grateful for not being as bad as she had been while fighting. She couldn't understand why Harry hadn't restored her. Ron wasn't handy enough with a wand to do healing spells, and she was grateful he didn't use her as a test dummy but she knew Harry had the skill.

"Why?" she gasped. Her voice was hoarse but it was easier to talk than before.

"Hermione, take it slow." Harry said helping her ease back into a lying position.

Hermione could still see him and Ron as she tried to avoid staring up at the sky. Ignoring the fact that they were outside made it easier to imagine that she was still some normal kid who wasn't hiding away in woods.

"How long?"

It was the first time she realized she had no clue how long it had been since she passed out. The night sky was dark, but she couldn't remember how light it had been before she slipped into sleep.

"It's been nearly a week, Hermione."

"We've been hiding out since you pulled us away from the battle."

"Ron!" Harry chastised.

Hermione looked at Ron cautiously. He was clearly annoyed with the idea of being on the run again. Hermione couldn't help but feel guilty, there could have been a chance that they would have won if they had just stuck it out. But she felt certain that they were far too gone to have pulled a win out of their back pocket. Ron seemed to think differently, he was clearly holding resentment to being pulled away from the field.

"It's okay Hermione, when you passed out my arm was too injured to help you. Ron carried you and I led us away. We were nearly caught I barely managed to disarm the Death Eaters that were after us before we made it off the grounds. Ron and I, we just kept moving until we found a little muggle town."

"It was in pretty bad shape.' Ron interrupted.

Harry glared at him, as if Ron had said something inappropriate.

"Don't say it like that! The town, the town had been raided. It was all blood and shambles, there wasn't a person alive, Hermione. It was a small town but still, every single person. We hid out there for a day or two before we moved on. I don't know what this woods is but it's small, I just wanted somewhere to rest till you had a chance to really heal up."

Hermione didn't know what to say. She couldn't help but feel grateful that she hadn't been aware of the dead town they had occupied. She knew the Death Eaters did raids but she didn't know they had grown to the extent of killing entire villages. Her heart cried for all the poor people who had died, they died because Voldemort was still alive, because the Golden Trio hadn't managed to off the mass murderer in time. Guilt poured through her body just thinking about it.

"Why didn't you heal me?" she asked, feeling slightly selfish.

"Really Mione, that's what you care about right now?" Ron laughed out his voice dripping with bitterness.

"Ron, shut up. We couldn't heal you, Hermione. We both snapped our wands back in the town, left the pieces there just to be safe."

Hermione wanted to scream but she didn't think she had the energy. She had never known them to do something so stupid before, and she had witnessed a lot of stupidity on their parts.

"Why?"

Harry and Ron took a moment. Harry seemed to be silently asking Ron for guidance on what to do but the red head seemed uninterested. Harry opened his mouth and shut it again without a word, he repeated the process multiple times. Hermione was almost becoming annoyed when he uttered words that made her blood run cold.

"Hermione the Order fell. You-Know-Who is in control."

* * *

**Author's Note:** So there is the first chapter. Please review, I live off of reviews and I welcome _constructive_ criticisms :)


	2. Times Are Changing

**Author's Note: **Oh my goodness, I am so sorry for the ridiculously long wait! I am not even going to lie right now it completely slipped my mind that I had already started posting this story. I thought I had only edited the first chapter but when I realized I posted it as well I felt terrible. So here is the next part!

**THANK YOU:** A big thank you to juls and frasiersmom for their reviews of the last chapter and I'm sorry to have kept you waiting!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or it's characters. I only own my ideas and plot lines. I am making no money off of this story so please don't sue me I honestly have nothing to give you except the dinner I am currently eating.

* * *

**June 13th, 1998**

"The day of individual happiness has passed." Adolf Hitler

It had taken Hermione's body over a month to be strong enough to move on her own. Harry and Ron had taken care of her, though Ron seemed reluctant to do anything. The red head had spent the majority of the month leaving the woods in search of magical towns where he could acquire a paper. Harry and Hermione had begged him not to go, but once a week he would disappear for three days and show back up with the Daily Prophet.

For a month Hermione spent her time doing nothing but reading the monstrosity that the Prophet had become. She had always hated the paper because of their lies but it seemed that under Voldemort's control the paper was much more factual. And those facts scared her more than anything.

On this particular day Hermione and Harry were huddled close together using a tree as support. She had long ago gotten used to being in close proximity to Harry. He was her best friend, when Ron had left them in the woods Harry had been her only source of comfort. She had never been so grateful for having such a good friend as the moments when she felt alone.

Hermione kept looking through the trees waiting to see a flash of Ron's red hair. He had been gone longer than normal and she was beginning to worry. Harry could only do so much to reassure her that everything was fine. Even as he rested his dirty head on her shoulder she couldn't keep still. Fear was making her antsy and her body was finally healed enough to respond.

Not only was Ron taking longer than normal but they had stayed in the same place the whole month she had been healing. It would soon officially be a month and two weeks since the Battle of Hogwarts and Hermione felt unsafe remaining in the same place for long. When they had been on the run they were constantly changing location, but Harry had refused to move again until Hermione could walk on her own for a length of time.

Hermione didn't think she would ever be able to express the relief she felt when she saw red hair bobbing through the trees. Ron was walking slowly towards them and Hermione couldn't help but jump to her feet. Harry jerked as she pulled her shoulder out from under his head. Hermione winced as she jumped up as her ankle was just barely healed and not feeling one hundred percent better.

In Ron's hand was the paper, the bloody paper he risked his life for every week. But Hermione's eyes weren't on the paper. Instead she was looking at his left arm, just under the crook of his elbow. Hermione could see a small cut. It had obviously bled but even from a distance Hermione could tell the bleeding had stopped. What worried her was how clean the cut appeared to be, she couldn't think of any way such an injury would have occurred while he was walking through the woods.

"Ron!" she called out, waving him over as he walked closer towards her.

"Hermione, be quiet." Harry reminded her.

Hermione looked back at Harry flashing him a small smile of apology. She herself didn't feel comfortable in the small woods and couldn't believe she had spoken so loudly. They were completely defenseless in a world with Voldemort in control. Hermione was sure that none of them would survive being captured.

Ron didn't say anything as he approached them, he didn't even utter a word as he passed Hermione and sat down by Harry. But she wouldn't take his cold shoulder as any type of sign. Hermione rushed to his side, ignoring the small pains from her bad ankle. She sat down beside him and grabbed his left arm with a force that he couldn't fight.

Hermione worked, scrubbing her thumb at the excess blood that had dried on Ron's skin. He didn't even flinch as she pushed near his wound. She looked up at him with worried eyes but he did his best to avoid her glance.

"Ronald, what happened?"

"I fell." He said snatching his arm away from her when he sensed the opportunity.

"Come on mate, that's not even fooling me. What happened?" Harry asked.

Ron still didn't speak. Harry nearly jumped when the red head pushed the paper into his lap. Harry grabbed it and slowly read the first page. Hermione watched as he flipped through the pages taking in everything the paper was saying. She had never seen him read anything with such intensity.

"Ron, this isn't true is it?" he uttered in a horrified tone.

"As far as I can tell it is, but it's not like we get much news out here." Ron snapped.

"Ron, tell me what happened!" Hermione demanded her voice raising just loud enough to not attract any attention.

"I was caught in town." He said simply.

"Oh my god, by the Death Eaters?" she couldn't believe it.

"Think Hermione, would I be alive if I was caught by Death Eaters? No the damn P.S. stopped me as I was trying to leave town."

Hermione gave a confused look to her two friends. Harry seemed to understand what Ron was saying but Hermione was in the dark. She didn't know what the P.S. was, and she was hardly grateful for Ron's useless explanation. She could only huff as Harry passed her the paper.

_June 15__th__ 1998_

_Another large bound has been made in the effort of preserving our magical lines. The 'New Towns' were set up to look like a promising part of the future and you've heard it here first that they are up and running. The Purebloods here at the Daily Prophet couldn't be happier. After taking a trip to visit what was looking to be like a great solution to the overpopulation of unpure witches and wizards the reporters here were pleased by the accommodations. Not only are these towns going to be kept under surveillance to give us protection from the unpure who cannot control themselves but they also have multiple divisions. As reported by Pureblood Press there will be multiple towns set up across England and each town eventually will hold a specific group of the unpure. There is no longer any reason to fear!_

_Under the leadership of the new Ministry officials we are pleased that Magical London is finally taking matters into their own hands. Many changes have been made to help with the transition into this new world we are all so excited to be a part of. To help with the organization of the towns and to prevent any pure person from being relocated by mistake there are a few new guidelines set up by the Minister himself._

_1.__All persons (mudblood, halfblood, and pureblood) will have a branding identification._

_2.__All persons not supporting the Pure Regime have been asked to turn themselves in or face a harsher punishment when found._

_3.__All pure persons are being asked to turn in any who are unfit to be in our new world._

_4.__All persons are being asked to read and research our new government levels (which can be found summarized below.)_

_5.__Only the pure can survive in order for the pure to remain, help your government help you._

_We at the Prophet hope all are aware of our new government officials. For any who have yet to subscribe to Pureblood Press we insist you research in further detail the following: Death Eaters, those who work behind the scenes within New Towns to keep us all protected. Snatchers, those who are searching England for runaways who pose any threat to our new world. Pureblood Searchers, stationed in every town to check the blood of anyone a town member claims is suspicious. Also additional knowledge of the Gatherers, Hunters, and Guardsmen would be useful for any pureblood. Don't fall into the patterns of the past, support the cause. Here at the Prophet we are Brothers of Blood._

Hermione stared at the paper, she couldn't even bring herself to drop it. The words kept hitting around the insides of her skull as if something would become clearer if she thought about it again. She understood, finally, who must have stopped Ron. The Pureblood Searchers seemed the most likely fit if he truly believed she would find the answer from the paper.

It seemed insane that the Prophet was supporting such a horrendous cause, that anyone was. It was as if the war had never happened, that evil had always been in control. She wanted to cry as she thought about all the people they had lost for nothing. She had seen far too many of her friends fall to their deaths during the Battle of Hogwarts. It wasn't fair that good wasn't able to stop evil that was how the world was supposed to work.

"Why didn't they just kill you?" she couldn't help but question.

"I reckon the Death Eaters are the only ones who care about killing. The P.S. just want to keep their towns filled with purebloods. I bet they would have roughed me up pretty bad if I hadn't been."

Hermione felt the need to cry overtake her again. She didn't know how to process all of the news that Ron had thrown at her. The Prophet had never mentioned branding or New Towns before. The most information she had been given was just about a new world order coming about, that the purebloods didn't need to worry because their government had everything under control.

Suddenly everything seemed much graver. Hermione couldn't help but feel a sense of responsibility for being the reason Harry ran away from battle. Whether or not they were going to lose anyway it couldn't have been good for anyone's morale to see their savior running from the battlefield.

As if he could read her mind Harry closed in on her and wrapped his arms around her body in a comforting hug. Hermione couldn't do anything but sink further into the ground and his hug. The world had turned topsy-turvy and she didn't know how to go on.

"So we need to go." Ron said breaking Hermione's moment with Harry.

"Where?" Harry asked, assuming Ron had thought of a safer place for their camp.

"Didn't you read the paper? We have to turn ourselves in." Harry and Hermione only managed to look at Ron as if he had something growing out of his head, "They aren't killing anyone they're just rounding everyone up. We can go find my family."

"They're rounding everyone up for the slaughter, Ron!" Hermione yelled not caring about keeping quiet.

"I need to see my family! You're the one who dragged me away and left them to die. They are my family!"

"You don't think they're like my family too? I love your family Ron, but we have to be smart here! We can't go. Tell him, Harry, tell him we can't walk into the slaughter house like that! It's like they're fattening pigs before killing them. We can't walk into such a blatant trap! Besides Ron, who said that your family would even surrender like that!"

Ron advanced on Hermione quickly. She didn't feel threatened but Ron was significantly bigger than her and his fury was enough to startle her. He had her back up to a tree as Harry was pulling at his arms to try and push him back.

"Hermione, they are my family."

His voice was low as if the statement was somehow a threat. Hermione didn't want to argue with him, she didn't want to be the bad guy. But she refused to give herself up just to be stabbed in the back. She knew Ron was just trying to see his family again and she couldn't blame him for that but it was preventing him from thinking rationally about the situation.

If Ron had been thinking she knew he would realize that giving themselves up for these towns would mean the three of them separating. It would mean that whenever the Death Eaters were ready to kill them they would be right there. Surely the moment Voldemort heard Harry had been captured he would kill him on sight. Hermione knew her own life wouldn't be spared and Ron would be lucky to be spared on the technicality of being a pureblood.

"Ron, we just can't. Think it through." Hermione begged hoping he would step away and allow her a moment to breathe.

It was Harry who finally made Ron step back and think. Harry dragged Ron away from Hermione by his arm, pulling him out of earshot. She wished she was better at reading lips or that her hearing had adjusted but she couldn't tell what Harry was saying. Whatever it was seemed to put Ron at ease. The two boys walked calmly back to Hermione and just stood before her as if nothing had ever happened.

"Do you think you're good enough to travel, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"As good as I'm going to get without a proper Healer. We should head out that way," Hermione said pointing in the opposite direction Ron had come from, "so we know we're safe from one village."

Harry nodded in agreement taking Hermione's hand as he walked off. Ron dropped the Prophet in the pile with all the others. He knew the likelihood of them stumbling upon another paper was unlikely. They would be traveling blind from the moment they left their campsite. There was an eerie sense of doom hanging over their heads as they walked away from what had been a safe home for the last month.

It seemed clear to all of them that if the Prophet was any indication the world had certainly turned itself over to Voldemort. With the Order gone and most of the next generation dead on the floors of Hogwarts no one was left to fight but those too weak to attempt so in the first place. The world was finally one, but it was hardly the world of peace that they had been hoping for. Hermione didn't want to think negatively, she wished that she could find some silver lining within everything that happened but she couldn't. The only thought that soothed her mind was the saying her mother had taught her growing up. _Everyone has a happy ending, if it's not happy then it's not the end._ Hermione could only pray that saying was true.

* * *

**A.N.: **So there is chapter two, and again sorry for the stupidly long wait. I can't believe myself! Let me know what you think, or just yell at me for taking so long to update! Any reviews are welcomed reviews


	3. Goodbye, Hell(o)

**Author's Note: **So here is the next chapter. I don't really know what to say about it, haha. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter!

**Warning: **Please remember this story is rated M, there will be dark themes and touchy subjects throughout. It is a war piece, a dark-angst-drama-horror type of war story with a little romance thrown in. Keep the rating in mind when deciding it the story is appropriate for you.

* * *

**April 26th, 1999**

**"We're living in hard times." -Antonio Banderas**

* * *

Harry was furiously scratching at one of the cuts on his arm. Walking through the woods for months had exposed him to many types of injuries and infections. There was almost a slight greenish tint around the cut he was scratching but he couldn't help but irritate the injury more.

Hermione was asleep only feet away from him. She had pulled a pile of dead leaves from the ground to surround her like a blanket. In the months they had been traveling she had lost a significant amount of weight. Even the warm spring air felt cold to her small frame. It seemed like everywhere they traveled she was too cold and tired to go any further.

Ron had taken to biting off Hermione's head every chance he got. The lack of food had caused his temper to grow immensely. He blamed Hermione and Harry for his family's death, although none of them were sure who survived the Battle of Hogwarts.

It had been nearly a year since the battle, but for the three teens it seemed like an entirely different lifetime. They had been surviving on nothing more than rain water and the occasional rabbit. Harry had managed to catch a few snakes by speaking to them, trapping them till he could kill them for food. Ron had managed to become a decent hunter using the tools Hermione made from sticks and rocks they found on the floor of the woods.

Harry looked at the greenish cut on his arm with a scowl. His body was covered in many scars from the last few months of travel. He ventured a guess that at least eighty percent of his body had small faint scars covering its canvas. Hermione and Ron had been luckier in that sense, neither of them were as clumsy as Harry had been. Hermione was suffering from malnourishment and Ron was growing violent form the lack of food but they both managed to keep from cutting themselves up.

Hermione's breath pattern changed and Harry could tell she was awake. None of them wasted much energy with opening their eyes or moving about much, instead they would just take a deep breath and wait for what the day might bring. Harry wanted to stay positive for her, he knew out of the three of them she was suffering the most mentally but he had no clue how to help her.

"Morning. We'll have to move today." He said to her still body.

Hermione gave a small grunt, it was almost inaudible but Harry's ears had become adjusted. He didn't have to remind her that they couldn't stay still. For the last year they had constantly been on the move. Hermione didn't think she had ever healed properly because of it. She wanted to find a safe house, but none of them were sure where they were trapped in the woods.

It had only been a month before when Ron disappeared for a week and came back with news. Voldemort had expanded, he had taken over a majority of Europe and was hoping to move into Asia in the next few years. He had placed a trace on all forms of magic within Britain. Hermione had never been so glad that they hadn't' tried wandless magic as when she heard that piece of information.

There were still times when Ron insisted that they needed to go back, needed to find his family and fight. Part of Hermione knew he was trying to be heroic. He wanted to save the world from the horrible place it had become. But Hermione and Harry had clearer minds, they knew that if they went back they wouldn't survive.

"Which way are we heading this time?" she asked as she slowly sat up.

Their bodies were weak from malnourishment, Hermione worst of all. Every move they made had to be well thought out and carefully executed.

"I figured we'd let Ron take the lead this time. You know how he is."

"Rude, bossy, mean?"

"Hermione, come on. Ron needs to see we're not against him. You and I have basically taken over our lives. He just wants some say in things."

"Yeah, he wants to say we need to turn ourselves in… and you know what, I'm sick of hearing it. This has been hard on all of us. I'm wasting away, you probably have a disease judging from the color of your arm. But Ron, poor baby can only eat as much as we do. He doesn't have sweets and so he goes mad! He's convinced his whole family is dead, or that they just gave into You-Know-Who. I don't want to sit in some stupid New Town like a sitting duck."

"And what are you doing here?" Hermione looked up to see Ron standing behind her.

That was another habit he had fallen into. More often than not Hermione found Ron eavesdropping on her conversations with Harry. It was like the red head thought they were going to make life changing decisions and leave him out of it. Every time he listened in a fight started, but Hermione was not ready to argue so early in the morning.

"You're right Ron, I'm not really doing anything here. We are traveling through the woods and its not doing anyone any good, but at least we're alive."

"Congratulations, you're alive. You made us run away and now people are dead because of you. But at least you're alive." He spat out throwing a dead rabbit at her.

Hermione looked at Harry, who long ago had gotten sick of the bickering. He knew Hermione never meant to start it, and he had a feeling Ron didn't mean to either, but all the same everyday was a challenge and it made what they were doing harder.

If only there was some safe way of learning everything Ron needed to know without risking their lives. They couldn't risk the New Towns. Though Ron had learned, around the same time he discovered that Voldemort expanded, that only two New Towns were running. Which meant Hermione would be on her own and Harry and Ron would be together. Harry just knew they couldn't survive that separation.

"Ron, mate," Harry said changing the subject, "we've got to move today. What direction do you think?"

Hermione watched Ron's face carefully. Harry still trusted Ron's judgment enough but she didn't. Ron was so desperate to see his family she wouldn't be surprised if he led them straight into a nearby village. She felt guilty for distrusting her best friend, but in the year since the war he had hardly been the same person.

"There's a town nearby no matter what direction we go. It took a year but we finally made it to the edge of the woods. No way is safe."

Hermione let out a small breath she had been holding while she waited for his response. Looking at Harry she knew there wasn't much else for them to do. They would have to back track if they wanted to keep their cover… But back tracking could be dangerous even if they managed to stay on the same path.

"Ron, are you sure?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"I was walking around for days, I know what I saw."

Hermione bit her lip, cutting into it again. Her lips were the only place she had continuously cut open. Every day she would bit at her lip from nervousness and it would split open squirting a small amount of blood into her mouth.

"Maybe if we wait for night we can sneak through a town." She suggested.

"That'd be dangerous." Harry said.

"So is sitting here. If we have to chose a town no matter what surely night would be smarter."

"There are night P.S. and Snatchers around everywhere. Harry, she led us straight to a dead end."

Hermione didn't know what to say. She had been the one giving most of the direction orders. Harry would help every few days but she had been leading them through most of the forest, following the trail of small animals so they could keep their food supply. Clearly the animals were just as stupid as she felt.

"I'm sorry." She stuttered out unsure of herself.

"Damn right, you're sorry!" Ron shouted.

"Don't yell at her. Don't yell at all -what do you want to do, get us killed?" Harry hissed out quietly.

"Not a bad idea." All three jumped at the foreign voice.

A man in his thirties stood behind them, leaning against a tree staring at them like they were water in the desert. Hermione's eyes went wide, looking almost comical on her sunken in face. Harry had, out of habit, reached for his wand that was no longer there. Ron just stood, staring the man down knowing there was little that could be done.

"Well, well, what have I got here?" the man laughed.

In a split second Harry took off. His feet moving so fast they barely touched the ground. Hermione followed his lead but she could hardly run and fell behind after only a few seconds. The two ran as fast as they could. Hermione made it only a short distance away before she fell to the ground, her ankle in too much pain to move further. Ron was catching up with her, and Harry had noticed her absence.

The two boys ran to her. Whatever issues might have occurred between them were no match to the adrenaline of the situation. Ron did his best to pull her from the ground and force her to keep moving. Harry had finally caught back up with the two of them and was trying to assist Ron.

But the man was so close, he had hardly sprinted before he caught up to the three teens. They might have been younger but they were clearly injured and out of shape. And before they knew it they were surrounded not only by the man but three other snatchers.

Magic was the only thing that would save them. They were already caught, doing wandless magic could hardly hurt them… or that's what Hermione had thought. Everything she shot at the men bounced off their shields as if she held no power. The stunners and body binds held hardly any power after a year of not practicing any magic.

Harry joined, shooting spells off the best he could. His strength had never been wandless magic, and the few he could do were hardly any help against grown men. The snatchers seemed to have paired off with the trio. Two men fighting Harry and one each with Hermione and Ron.

Spells and curses flew back and forth between the group. Hermione was doing her best to keep a shield around the boys as well as herself, but it was draining. The snatchers were advancing on them and she could hardly do anything about it. The only thing she could think of was to surprise the men, which clearly would be difficult in the middle of a fight.

Shifting her position Hermione found herself free of the spell zone. Her snatcher had continued shooting off spells without even paying attention but now they were being directed at Ron. She dropped to the ground, army crawling her way out of the fighting circle. She was surprised it was working, the grown men were so enamored by the fighting they didn't even notice who it was they were shooting spells at. Ron was the only one who seemed to notice her absence as he looked around frantically, assuming she had been hit and fallen to the ground.

Hermione forced herself to stand, pushing herself up with all the might she had. She didn't even have to focus on walking quietly with all the spell work being shouted around her. As quickly as she could on her ankle she made her way behind the man who had first caught them. He was deep in his duel with Harry, shouting off nasty spells that Hermione was glad Harry was skilled enough to dodge or shield. She walked up, only an arm's length away from the man and silently prayed her plan would work.

She locked eyes with Ron for only a split second. Despite all their bickering he was still her best friend and in that moment she knew she was his. His eyes glazed over with concern in the second that he had noticed her. Harry hadn't seen her, and for that she was glad. Ron was too confused to process what was happening but Harry would have called out and given her away before she was ready.

"Oi, idiots!" she called out as loudly as she could manage.

Every man before her turned to look at her. No one shot a spell as they turned. The man who had found them turned all the way around to face her. She caught his eyes staring into her face and as quickly as she could process she swung her right arm around to connect her first with his cheek.

She thought the surprise would give the boys a moment to win but they had been as distracted by her punch as the snatchers had. The man she had hit swayed on his feet, his hand nursing his cheek. She didn't even notice the other man who had been fighting Harry cast a spell.

Hermione had never been in a body bind before and she hoped never again would she experience it. Her mind was desperately crying out to her body to move, she was frightfully aware but she had no control. She could hear more spells being cast until two more thuds followed by silence.

The man she had hit stood over her grabbing her cheeks in one hand and pulling her head up to resist the bind. His fingers traced the roughness of her jawline and he smiled down at her with an evil glint in his eye.

"Won't you be a delicious one," Hermione's mind panicked thinking of all the creatures that were sure to be following Voldemort, "but not yet. First, learn to respect your superiors. Next time you touch me, mudblood, it'll be your life."

Hermione wanted to scream, she wanted to run. But the grown man stood over her and pulled his arm back before jutting it forward to meet with her nose. Before she could even register what was happening the world had gone dark.

* * *

**A.N: **So there is the third chapter! Obviously there was a big time jump but I didn't want to waste your time reading about a lot of roaming around the woods and petty fights -no unnecessary chapters! I love reviews and I'll do my best to have a shout out to anyone who reviews before the next chapter is posted!

**THANK YOU! **to **lizziemarie0509**, I promise I won't destroy Harry and Ginny's happiness. In fact I already have their ending planned out so them you don't need to worry about; **Julia**, I'm sorry for the long wait and I'm so happy to be on your favorites list -Ginny won't come in for a little while but once she does she'll be a fairly consistent character


	4. First Night of Forever

**Author's Note: **So here is the next chapter, hope you enjoy! Last chapter they were caught, what happens now?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter.

**Warning: **Please remember this is a M story, the themes are dark. It's a war piece and I don't plan on sugar coating everything. Keep that in mind when reading.

* * *

**April 26th, 1999**

**"We can despair and curse, and change nothing. We can chose evil like our enemies have done and create a world based on hate. Or we can try to make things better." -Carol Matas**

* * *

Standing hurt; how long she had been standing she didn't know. But certainly in the last year she had never spent so much time standing in one place and when she needed to stand she had Harry, and even occasionally Ron, to lean on. Here she had no one here she was surrounded by hatred that she had never witnessed before in her life.

Though the others seemed numbed or ignorant to the superiors around them. She watched as the other muggleborns did as they were told, smiled, some even laughed as they walked down the dirt road with their friends. But Hermione's eyes were drawn to the men and woman in uniforms; their dark green wizard's robes which bared the Dark Mark on the chest as a symbol of who they believed in. Hermione could barely find her breath let alone the energy to laugh.

The town in front of her was small and crowded from what she could see. Buildings were pushed close together and there wasn't much walking room in the dirt path between the rows of buildings. Children as young as eleven were running around the small pathway, pushing past people and enjoying the sunshine. But the older people in Hermione's eyesight hardly looked as carefree, maybe they too realized this was only a stepping stone to what would happen to them.

She had been waiting for hours to gain free entrance to the town. Death Eaters were guarding any chance of escape but they were also taking their own sweet time getting though the muggleborns who needed to get into the town. They didn't even bother to wear their masks anymore, no point in keeping their identities secret when they were in charge.

Hermione didn't recognize a single Death Eater that she saw. She wondered how many had joined Voldemort during her year of hiding, how many cowered in the face of fear? It was possible he had taken everyone who didn't reside in one of his camps. The thought made her feel sick to her stomach.

"Mudblood!" one of the Death Eaters called to her.

Hermione refused to be called like a dog. She stood still and tall determined to fight them every step of the way. She may have gotten herself caught but she was hardly giving in. They would have to kill her before she was ready to just give into their power and accept her fate.

"Now, Mudblood!"

Hermione chuckled, amusing herself at the thought of every muggleborn being called Mudblood. It would surely get confusing. The Death Eaters would have at least ten people respond anytime they were trying to get someone's attention.

But it wasn't the time to be amused and the Death Eaters didn't appreciate her chuckling rather than responding. She felt a sharp pain in her back as a woman jabbed at her with what Hermione could only call a sharp stick. She stumbled forward standing right in front of the man who had called her.

"Arm."

"Okay." Hermione said not moving an inch.

"Give me your arm, Mudblood!" the man growled.

"Oh I'm sorry," Hermione mused, "I thought you were referring to me as Arm."

Her sarcasm gave her only a moment of triumph before a large hand connect with her cheek. Hermione had to move her jaw slowly just to reassure herself that it was still connected to the rest of her head. His hand had been rough and hard, had she been any smaller he might have broken her neck.

"Backtalk again and it'll be your life, Mudblood."

She had to wonder if that was a phrase they had all learned. Had Voldemort ordered them all to say the same things? She let her mind wander, but raised her left arm out to meet his hand. She wouldn't mentally give into them, not yet, but she really would prefer not being slapped again.

Her desire was squashed however when the man slapped her left arm away from him. There was nothing but skin and bone on her arm to protect from the harshness of his force. He grabbed her right arm forcefully and pulled it up to look at her forearm.

"You could've said right arm!" she cried out as his grip tightened around her arm.

The man didn't respond, instead he pressed the tip of his wand to her arm. It was strange feeling magic surge through her. Even during her wandless duel she hadn't noticed the magic that pumped through her veins. But here, the Death Eater was shoving his own dark magic through her in a way she couldn't ignore. Once the magic feeling had faded he looked down to his sheet of paper and called to the woman next to him.

"Granger, Hermione. Born September 19th, 1979. Hair: brown, eyes: brown, 5ft 5in. Mudblood, level one."

The woman was frantically filling the information in on whatever sheet she held. Hermione was pushed back where the woman prodded even more. By the end of it all Hermione was fairly sure every inch of her body was documented on the sheet of paper. The woman hadn't asked her anything, instead she just poked her wand around until Hermione felt fully violated.

"Keep moving!" the woman yelled when Hermione continued to stand in front of her.

Hermione moved forward, wondering if the boys were going through the same problems. Could the other camp be as intrusive, or was it just the muggleborns they wanted to catalog like animals?

"Arm." An older woman called out when Hermione reached her.

This time Hermione lifted her right arm, knowing it was what the Death Eaters wanted of her. She could at least manage to get in the camp before she started a fight. And if the man had been any indicator the Death Eaters had no problem physically hurting them as well as using magic.

The old woman turned Hermione's arm over and pressed the tip of her wand to the soft pink skin. Hermione could hardly believe she was looking at her own arm. It was so thin she could see the contour of her bones and her skin was so pale she could see the blue veins beneath her skin. The old woman didn't seem to care how fragile Hermione looked, she handled her with the same roughness as the Death Eaters before her.

"Signetur Seculo Seculorum."

Hermione tried to place the spell but she had no idea. It was rare that she not recognize a piece of magic, or at least recognize the idea behind it. But all she knew was the spell had Latin roots. She was so caught up in her thoughts she had hardly noticed the small pricks starting to punch as her arm.

Soon the pain grew to one she couldn't ignore if she had tried. The fingers on her right hand twitched as the pain made her limb uncontrollable. Hermione bit down on her lip as hard as she could to prevent the throat ripping scream that was struggling to come out. After everything she had been through she hadn't imagined pain like she was experiencing.

The old woman, who was stronger than she appeared, pinned her arm down to a table Hermione hadn't even seen appear. Everything in the world was fading besides the pain, and yet she couldn't pass out. No matter how bad the pain got as it pushed up her arm it wasn't enough to push her out of consciousness.

"Be quiet, Mudblood." The old woman yelled.

Hermione did her best to look up at the old woman. Had she been screaming? She couldn't even tell. She wasn't aware of anything besides her pain. She looked down at her arm, her fingers were still tapping out into the air as if they were pulling to free themselves from her hand. But her forearm was what scared her the most.

The Prophet hadn't been wrong all those months ago. As the pain worked its way through her arm it left behind a mark. She was being branded, branded a mudblood, branded no better than an animal. But surely animals didn't feel such pain when the hot iron touched them, the pain she felt was enough to make her wish for death.

MB1000001

Hermione could only stare at her arm. Doubly marked forever as a mudblood, the word carved into her left arm and now this… this terrible black tattoo. The image already seemed to be engraved in her mind, the number flashing before her even when she closed her eyes.

The old woman had little patience for Hermione's distress. She just pushed the young girl forward. Hermione found herself stumbling through what looked to be an iron gate. But the gate let her through just as Platform 9 ¾ had for so many years. Hermione tried to turn and go back through the gate, finally reality sunk back in as the pain started to numb, but the gate wouldn't allow her out… Never out, only in. Stuck in New Town Mudblood for what could possibly be the rest of her life.

* * *

Three hours.

That was how long Hermione had lasted before she had caught the Death Eaters' attention. It only took her three hours of being in New Town Mudblood before she started a scene. She hadn't meant to, in fact she had the intention of lasting at least the first day before getting herself killed. But in recent months her life seemed to forgo any plans she made for herself.

It had been a stupid confrontation. She would even go as far as to regret it because she knew what could be coming. The other muggleborns seemed to have found a peaceful way to exist within the town. They lived as though the Death Eaters weren't always hovering over them wands at the ready. Some had been there since the town had first been started and they went months without a problem, Hermione hadn't been able to last a day.

In fairness it had only started as a question. She had only wanted to know where she was supposed to sleep and where dinner could be found. She hadn't been trying to be difficult, she was too exhausted to have fought with the large men that were stationed inside the town. But they saw her question as a challenge and everything she had said only made it worse.

The scene had been quick. Obviously the Death Eaters wanted as little confrontation in public areas as possible. It made sense; if one person rebelled it could start a bigger problem. They needed to keep problems hidden away, quieted from the general public of the town.

Hermione hadn't even started fighting them. She had just been asking them about the sleeping arrangements. But almost immediately there was a man dragging her off by the arm –the right arm, which only caused the pain to flare back up.

They had placed her in a room alone. Just a concrete room, with the same dirt floors as everywhere else in the town. She had heard the door lock behind them when they left her there and no one had been back since.

She reasoned that it was a type of solitude. A punishment for starting any problems. Instead of finding a place to sleep for the night she had been given one. In actuality it wasn't the worst punishment she could have imagined. Though she didn't know how long it would last. But for now she refused to be worried about the future.

Her body ached from the day. It seemed like a lifetime ago she had been standing in the woods fighting with Ron… Ron and Harry, she could only hope they had adjusted better to wherever they had been taken. Maybe they had even managed to get away. That would be a pleasant thought to keep her going during rough times. At the very least the two of them were together, and maybe Ron would find his family. Perhaps Harry would find Ginny and they would manage to have a semi-normal life in whatever New Town they had been shipped to.

Surely the two of them weren't stuck in a dark dirty room alone for God knows how long. Surely they had managed to go longer than three hours without being seen as a problem. Hermione wouldn't let herself think about the notion that they could have died. She preferred to think of them as happy-ish in whatever place they had been put. It made things easier, especially that first night.

She had grown so used to Harry's arms wrapping around her to provide comfort. Or even the familiar screams of Ron during one of their fights. Any sound would have comforted her. But she had nothing, in that moment all she could hold onto was the ridiculous optimistic idea of the boys somehow managing to survive better than she had.

* * *

**A.N.**There is the next chapter! A new one should be posted shortly (definitely before the end of June) sorry it took a little while my work is crazy and I've had multiple 12-16 hour days recently which doesn't provide me with a lot of fanfiction time. I love reviews and will try to give a shout out to everyone who does before the next chapter is posted!

* * *

**Thanks!**To my reviewers:**lizziemarie0529**for another kind review! **TransfiguredToad **obviously today when when the new chapter has been posted, thank you for reading!


	5. Light of Day, Night of Terror

**A.N. **Oh my goodness you guys. You'll never believe how much trouble I have been through with technology recently. So towards the end of last year my computer started to freak out on me. Of course none of my documents were saved so every story I've written disappeared. Then the computer shut off altogether. So I had to buy a new one and start over on my stories from scratch.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, or the quotes.

**Warning: **This story is dark and contains dark themes. It is meant to be a more real version of a war story. It is rated M for a reason.

**May 31st 1999**

**"Because what was the point in crying when there was no one to comfort you? And what was worse, when you couldn't even comfort yourself?" Cassandra Clare**

In many ways it had surprised Hermione how much weight she had gained during isolation. In retrospect she could understand, but the idea itself just didn't sound right. One meal a day, given to her by an unpleasant man in the mid afternoon under normal circumstances would cause a girl to lose weight.

But Hermione had been so frail when she arrived at New Town Mudblood. For a year she had survived on a small portion of rabbit or snake, bugs, and -at desperate times- leaves. Her body was used to not eating much, but it had also gotten used to constant movement. In isolation she had more to eat during her meal and sat around for the rest of the day.

She had talked to herself in hopes of remaining sane. After the first week she had started to lose hope about leaving the isolation room anytime soon. During the second week she had begged her food man to make the smell go away. Two weeks' worth of urine and feces was enough to make the tiny room sickening. At first he hadn't said anything, but later that same day he came back and with a quick spell cleared the room. Hermione hated being grateful to a Death Eater, and she refused to acknowledge the gratitude instead she just stopped speaking to him.

The third week she had started imagining Harry and Ron sitting with her. She knew they weren't there but she liked talking with them more than herself. The boys gave her comfort that she hadn't had since she had last seen them. She made up stories of how their lives were, fantastic tales of them escaping on coming to rescue her.

The forth week had been her wake up call. The smell had started to take over the small room again and this time she refused to ask for anything that would put her in debt to a Death Eater. She stop playing make believe and forced herself to look at the truth of the situation. She was trapped, stuck in a small room inside a terrible building in a town where the Death Eaters were slowly preparing the muggleborns for slaughter. She started accepting the fact that no one would save her, that Harry and Ron were just as trapped as she was. There was no way to escape, and even if there was she had nowhere to go.

The likeliness that her family was alive in Australia was slim. The Weasleys' were as good as dead. Her cat even had probably passed away. She was alone, not only in the small room, but in the world. There were plenty of muggleborns surrounding her but none of them were her people. She had made friends –it had taken her until she was twelve but she had made friends. The magical world that once held so much promise was gone. And for the first time since she first learned magic was real she wished Dumbledore had just left her in her place.

Her place… it had been the first time she had thought it. The magical world was no longer a place for her. Perhaps it had never been, if this was the destiny she had been stuck with. It was then, in that forth week that she first thought of herself as a muggle trapped in the magical world. She no longer had a wand, wandless magic had only gotten her hurt, and the wizards in control had locked her away because they viewed her existence as a crime. She had never thought of herself as a mudblood, but that was what they were forcing her into –a dirty animal, trapped and sniveling but mostly dirty.

The fifth week hadn't been anything special. Hermione sat in silence allowing the stillness to overtake her. She only moved to get her food or to go to the restroom. She would fall asleep sitting up, or leaning against a wall. Yes nothing exciting happened during the fifth week, until the food man opened the door and never closed it.

Hermione had stared at the door for longer than she liked to admit before she even considered leaving the room. She wasn't sure if she would handle the real world, wasn't sure if it was a trap, five weeks had taken away the confidence she knew she needed to gain back if she was going to survive.

That was what drove her in the end. She needed to survive, and she could hardly do that if she stayed in isolation and allowed herself to be treated like a pet. She needed to become comfortable with fighting again, needed to stand up for herself. If she ever had a chance of getting out she would need to be stronger.

It was surprisingly easy to stand, probably due to the extra weight she had put on. In the woods her legs felt as though they would snap every time she stood. In the isolation room she only got slightly dizzy form standing too quickly. The room was tiny and only took a few steps to be in the doorway. She looked around cautiously, waiting to see if a Death Eater was going to jump out and prove leaving the door open had been a trap.

But no one came after her, nothing happened. In fact it was all fairly anticlimactic in the end. She walked out of the room and out of the building without much fuss. The problem only occurred once she was outside.

The sun was high in the sky, and Hermione had nearly forgotten about sunlight. Immediately she could feel the warmth on her skin, but the pain in her eyes was what mattered more. She practically jumped against one of the buildings, hiding in the shadow from the light that had burnt her eyes.

The others around her continued walking as if nothing had happened. Nobody seemed effected by her presence. Their lives kept on moving forward as if they weren't trapped in an undesirable situation. But Hermione's whole life had been uprooted and she refused to down play it. She refused to let isolation beat her. Even if she had to remind herself everyday she wouldn't give into them.

She had learned her lesson from solitary; never speak to the Death Eaters. She still didn't know where she was supposed to sleep that night but she would figure it out on her own this time.

As her eyes adjusted to the morning light she people watched. There were plenty of other muggleborns shoved into the small town. In fact there were probably too many. The town was small and crowded with large iron gates surrounding the entire perimeter. The buildings looked far too rundown for a place that was built only within the year. Bars were on every window, and from what Hermione could tell there was only one door going into each building.

The children seemed perfectly content with their situation. She watched as the school aged kids played and laughed with each other like nothing was wrong… The eleven and twelve years olds had never known another side to magic, they had always been faced with Voldemort's take over. Perhaps to them this town away from the violence of it all was a blessing.

But Hermione could see the broken look in some of the adults eyes. They were trying their best to keep up appearances for the children, trying their best to remain happy and not cause problems. But anyone who could remember the world before Voldemort's return knew better than to be happy with how things turned out.

Women were walking around, some old and some Hermione's age, with baskets of food. Hermione knew she had a lot to learn about the town and clearly the only way she would truly learn is if she would ask the other muggleborns. Somewhere there was a place to get food, somewhere there had to be a bathroom because everyone looked clean and the town didn't smell of urine, and somewhere there was a place for her to sleep.

"You keep hiding away and people will think you're a vampire." A girl no more than sixteen said.

"What?" Hermione questioned.

"You're standing off in the shadows." She explained. "I'm Anna, Anna Watts. You are?"

"Hermione Granger. I got here about a month ago."

"Not possible, people would have talked if Hermione Granger was here. You're like a celebrity."

"I was in isolation for… a few weeks." She sugarcoated.

The younger girl grabbed Hermione by the hand and pulled her through the shadows down the short dirt street. Hermione couldn't help but smile when she saw the fruit cart Anna had led them to.

"I hear isolation is fed slop, but we actually have decent food here. I can be, like, your guide. It's easier if you have someone helping you. When I first got here I had Matthew, but he got transferred. So I'll be your Matthew."

Hermione could get past the girl's cheerful demeanor. She was old enough to know how things had been before… Yet, she still smiled and looked at things optimistically. Hermione didn't know if she should be horrified by the town's way of twisting people.

"Who's Matthew?" Hermione asked.

"He was my boyfriend back at school. He ended things when he moved here but we picked back up once I joined. Having someone is always better than being alone, that's the first thing you need to know about this place. The Death Eaters don't ever get involved unless it's to punish someone so you need someone to help you with the transition, or at least that's what Matthew told me."

Hermione nodded, even if she didn't understand the girl's happiness she was more than willing to accept a friendship. She had felt far too alone during those weeks of isolation. Being without Harry and Ron would be hard enough but maybe with a friend she would be able to ease the ache in her chest.

"Awesome! First things first, everyone has a job. Women work in the factory and men work in the fields. Basically we make everything everyone here needs, or we grow stuff. Beds are first come first serve, but once you pick a bed everyone just kind of respects that that's your place. The younger kids don't have to work but they aren't allowed to learn magic, so once a week we switch off who teaches them basics like math and science and stuff. We all just kind of flail around until we find our footing."

Hermione let the younger girl lead her through the town. She told her what every building was called and the purpose of it. Anna even led Hermione out towards the fields to see some of the men starting to work. She pointed out all of the guard towers and stressed that Hermione never speak of You-Know-Who or the Death Eaters in a negative way.

Hermione had been quiet through the whole tour until then. She refused to go through life in the town pretending the Death Eaters and Voldemort weren't affecting her.

"Hermione, seriously. Anyone who speaks out gets transferred to the other Mudblood camp, but it's not nearly as free there. Rumor is it's more of a jail than anything else."

Hermione didn't know what to say. Five weeks ago there had only been two towns built. Of course it wasn't impossible that a town had opened during her time in isolation but it seemed unlikely that it would be another Mudblood town. Surely the Death Eaters would split up the Blood Traitors and the Halfbloods before giving the Mudbloods another place to live.

"Two weeks after I first got here a group of people were transferred to the other town and we can't even write them. They are practically in solitary." Anna explained.

But Hermione's mind was racing. From what she had gathered Anna had been in the town for quite some time. There was no other place for them to take Mudbloods unless they joined the Halfblood and Blood Traitor town... The only thing Hermione could think of was that people weren't being transferred; they were being shipped off to die.

It was just like she had told Ron. The Death Eaters weren't providing them a home, this was a stepping stool. They would live in these towns until they became too old or sickly then Hermione had no doubt they would be shipped off and never seen again.

"Come on," Anna said pulling Hermione towards one of the housing buildings. "It's almost dark so we've got to get off the streets."

Anna led Hermione up four flights of stairs in the creepy brick building. Opening the door to the fourth floor was not at all what Hermione had expected. Instead of rooms the entire floor had been gutted. Cot-like beds sat in rows filling up the room. There was a door that Anna told her led to the bathroom.

People had already filled the room up, but luckily there was still a bed empty next to Anna's. Women and children, even a few men climbed into their cots and tried to force themselves into sleeping. It had only just gotten dark, there was still plenty of time in the day left, but once it was dark there was nothing for them to do in the town but sleep.

"There are small children." Hermione noted.

"Yeah, people who had little kids brought them, and some people have had babies since they got here. It's really sad though, some of the men have kids that are with their moms in the Halfblood town. Or some women sent their kids with dads because Halfblood Town is supposed to be nicer."

"Families got separated?"

"Yeah, I mostly don't mention families to people cause of it. So sad."

"It is."

"Oh, and Hermione, tomorrow you're going to want to shower. You smell kind of awful."

Hermione watched Anna slip under the small blanket on her bed and listened to the sounds of the night. Many people were sleeping but the cries of grown men and women were enough to keep Hermione up. Babies would cry as the night went on and she couldn't think of anything but being separated from the people she considered family.

She would have thought she would cry. Thoughts of Harry and Ron, the rest of the Weasleys… the thoughts overran her mind but she couldn't bring herself to cry. When they had been in the woods Harry always stopped her tears one way or another. Ron, during his few good days, would fumble about awkwardly trying to cheer her up as well. But here she had nothing but the desperate moans of broken people to comfort her.


	6. It'll be Your Life

**Author's Note: **I couldn't wait another week to post the next chapter. I just wanted to thank everyone who stuck with this story despite the computer crash of 14.

**Disclaimer:** I am not JK Rowling. I am not profiting off of this story. I also do not own the quotes used at the beginning of chapters.

**Warning: **This is a dark story. It has dark themes. This is meant to display more of what a real war might be like. There will be sensitive subjects.

**"The worldly and heartless lie in wait for the naïve and innocent. We were young, and vulnerable, weak, **

**and half-sick, but no longer naïve or innocent." VC Andrews**

**21 July 1999**

Hermione had to wonder what the real world looked like. Had Voldemort gotten every person against him rounded up? Had he killed off all the muggles in England? She could only imagine he was coming closer to his goals with how Mudblood Town had been treated in the last week.

With Anna by her side Hermione had gotten used to her daily pattern. They would go into the factory and help the older women in any way they could. They would grab food from the carts, or stop by the dining building. Then just before night fell they would go to sleep, and do their best to sleep through as much of the day as possible.

Or at least that's how it had been. But things had changed during the last two weeks of July. Subtle things, that most of the muggleborns hadn't noticed until they had become serious.

The men in the fields were no longer growing food, instead they were digging. No one knew why but none of the men dared complained. The fruit and vegetables ran out and were never replaced. Even the food in the dining building became more like the slop Hermione remembered from solitary.

It had happened so subtly over 14 days in July but then they were hit with reality. The Death Eaters no longer needed the towns to look like a nice place. For some reason they didn't need to convince people to turn themselves in anymore.

The only explanation Hermione could think of was that everyone else was either in hiding or dead. Dead was more likely. She had wondered briefly if the boys were experiencing the same troubles but she quickly realized that spending her energy on thinking of them only hurt her in the long run. The boys were a painful memory, and for all she knew that was all they would ever be.

More punishments were being doled out as time went on. Hermione no longer saw younger children playing in the dirt round like she had that very first day in April, or even after her solitary. Now even the children assisted with jobs, boys following the men into the fields and young girls going into the factory.

There had been two cases where a muggleborn had been killed for no reason. Perhaps the guard had been bored, or maybe the muggleborn had looked in the Death Eater's direction; either way they had been hit with the Avada Kedava quicker than anyone standing in the streets could comprehend.

The Death Eaters had left the bodies there. The two people had just sat in the road until another muggleborn took the risk of moving them. As far as Hermione knew the two people had been buried and no one had been punished for it yet.

Hermione felt certain that whatever was happening was only the beginning. It would only be a matter of time before worse things started occurring; what was worse she wasn't sure of yet. Anna's optimistic attitude had, for the most part, remained intact even as the town crumbled around them. Hermione hadn't been as carefree, any hope she held during the beginning of her time in Mudblood Town had vanished as quickly as their food supply.

Without food to sustain them many of the older men and women were failing to complete their jobs on time. Old men who got little sleep and almost no nutrition didn't have the energy to dig useless trenches in the ground all day. The women couldn't focus their eyes on their needlework for long periods of time. And the Death Eaters were starting to notice.

"MB4000402." The number rang out across the town.

It was something they had gotten used to over the last few weeks. Death Eaters would call out the number etched in someone's arm and that muggleborn better report quickly or else. Hermione wasn't sure what happened to those who were called, no one had talked about it since it started happening. This time she worried because she recognized the number.

Leslie Potts was an eighteen year old girl who had paired up with Hermione and Anna. She was sneaky and charming on top of being a conventional beauty. It was thanks to her that Hermione and Anna hadn't starved since the food depletion. Whatever Leslie did kept them well stocked in bread, and on occasion she'd even return with an apple.

She was one of the few who didn't hide the tattoo away. Most of the muggleborns wore long sleeves, or wrapped their arm in an attempt to hide away the truth of the situation. After all they had all gone to some type of primary school before finding out about magic, the muggleborns knew the last time in history people were branded with number tattoos. Leslie seemed to be the only one who was willing to look at it during the day.

Hermione had taken to hiding her own number during the daytime but at night she had often found herself tracing the numbers with her fingertips. Somehow the number printed on her arm upset her more than the word etched into her skin.

Hermione searched the crowd of people for any sign of Leslie. There were too many women crowding her to see one small girl moving amongst them. Hermione could only hope that Leslie would be safe, that she would be back in her bed by the end of the night.

Hermione was doing her best to ignore the growling in her stomach as she walked towards the cots Anna, Leslie, and she shared. They had pushed their beds close together so they could talk in hushed tones without disturbing the young kids.

She was sore from her work in the factory. As sore as she was from working inside she certainly didn't envy the men. Her feet and legs ached from standing on the concrete floors of the factory all day, her back was sore from hunching over a table for most of the afternoon, and her eyes were tired from staring so intensely in the bad light.

All she could think of was getting to sleep. Her worries of Leslie had all but vanished from her mind as the day had worn on. Her desire to eat wasn't strong enough to keep her awake through the pain. In the hell that was her life she had one thing to look forward to –falling asleep.

However Anna and Leslie sitting on their beds arguing quietly would quickly destroy any hope for sleep she had. Leslie was doubled over on the bed, her face in her hands. Her chest was heaving as she shook from excitement, fear, or sadness Hermione didn't know.

Anna had stood before Hermione even reached the cots. She had a smile on her face and clearly whatever she was talking about was only causing Leslie even more pain. Hermione did envy the young girls optimism at times, but her youthful arrogance was something Hermione was glad to have outgrown.

"I wouldn't be so worried. Soon someone will realize our supplies have dwindled and we'll either be transferred like the others or they will supply us with what we need. Personally I look forward to having soap for the showers again. Rinsing off doesn't help me feel clean at all. But just you wait!"

"Shut up, Anna!" Leslie cried out through her hands.

"Come now, one worse day isn't the end! Didn't Dumbledore always say that happiness could be found even in the darkest of times?" Anna said with a small smile, patting her friend on the back.

"I don't care what the old fool said, Anna!"

A few months before and Hermione would have taken offense to the phrase, just like Anna was. But Hermione had to agree with Leslie even though it killed her inside. Dumbledore was supposed to protect them, all of them, but he was too busy working in metaphors and mysteries to be clear about what needed to be done.

Albus had entrusted the most important mission for all of wizarding kind to a young boy and his fool hearted friends. Had Dumbledore just been honest, straight forward about what needed to happen maybe they could have prevented this horrible war from continuing.

Then again, had she not pulled Harry off the grounds maybe the war would have ended…

"Leslie, that's no way to think." Anna cooed.

"Just shut up! You are so stupid! You're innocent and naive and it'll get you killed! You want to pretend the Death Eaters care about our well being? Have you forgotten what Voldemort was all about, already? There is no light, there is no silver lining they will kill us all!"

Leslie was yelling loudly enough that the children around them had taken notice. It wasn't as though she was saying anything they hadn't all been thinking at some point. But it was much worse to hear the words so seriously yelled.

"Guess what, Anna, they don't care about any of us. They will kill you without a second thought, if they don't work you to death first! Don't you wonder what happened to the Smith boy, or Janet, or the old woman who used to sit outside the factory? Can you really be so stupid to not realize what is happening to people? Well, go ahead! Be stupid and optimistic while you stare death in the face, but don't do it around me!"

Anna was nearly in tears before she ran off, most likely to find another bed for the night –after all so many had opened up in recent weeks. Leslie had gone back to holding her head in her hands. Hermione could see she was heaving again. She never shed a tear but in every other aspect she was crying.

"Leslie." Hermione said softly not wanting to startle her.

"Go ahead and tell me how horrible I am."

"You aren't, Anna probably needed a good dose of reality at this point. What happened?"

Hermione was smart. Leslie might not have been an optimist like Anna but she would never have gone off how she did in front of children who needed hope to get through the day. Something had to be wrong and Hermione could only assume it had to do with her number getting called out.

She sat on the bed next to Leslie and wrapped her arms gently around the other girl. Leslie seemed to melt into the embrace.

"I was called before Major."

"What!"

Within the town they had come up with names for the Death Eaters, a ranking of sorts. Major was the Death Eater in charge of the entire town. He gave the final orders to all the other Death Eaters, and so far he had been the one in charge of punishments. He was a large, bulky man with grey hair and a scar that ran from the corner of his nose down his lips to his chin.

Most of the muggleborns who had been called in front of him never returned. Janet had been one of them. She was a woman in her mid thirties who had little to do with the war other than her blood status. She had been called to see Major and never returned.

"Leslie," Hermione said after the other girl remained in silence, "you need to tell me what happened!"

"I have a decision to make. Life or death."

"Why would they give you that choice?"

It didn't make any sense. No one had gotten a choice in what happened to them. As far as Hermione knew everyone they killed had just been murdered without any forethought.

"They don't want elves anymore." Leslie croaked out.

It took Hermione a moment but soon enough she understood. If the Death Eaters no longer wanted elves to do their dirty work then someone would need to take the elves place. Who better than people the pure already view as animals?

"Oh God, Leslie. What did you say?"

"I didn't have to say anything. Either I report to work tomorrow morning or I'll be killed. The thing is life would be easier being a slave than being trapped here. I mean they would have to make sure you were fed at least enough to keep up with work. And I'd probably get a new outfit that wasn't so dirty, so I wouldn't muck up the house. But…"

Hermione stared at the younger girl, she was barely an adult and faced with so much.

"What, Les, what else could they possibly do." Hermione asked.

She went to pull the girl into a tighter hug and could feel Leslie flinch under her. Shifting on the bed had been painful, not enough to vocalize but enough for her to wince, and that was something Hermione had never witnessed Leslie do.

"They want play things, someone frail and too scared to fight back. Someone to do housework during the day, and whatever they please at night. That's how Janet got out, they haven't killed her. She's working at Captain's house. Major even said if I took the job I would see her now and again."

Hermione stayed silent. She didn't know what to say, or if Leslie even wanted advice. Other than the play thing stipulation, the job sounded good enough. Food and housing away from town, having the opportunity to see others on occasion. But Hermione couldn't get past the play thing issue, she wouldn't be able to.

She had very little to hold onto in this life. One thing she would have to keep was the small bit of innocence she had left. To throw that away to a Death Eater in hopes of staying more comfortable… well Hermione didn't think she could do it.

But Leslie wasn't her, and her life had been completely different from Hermione's before their time in town together. Leslie had already been with a man she loved, she had experienced that happiness that she could hold onto during troubled times. More importantly Leslie wasn't as strong as Hermione, she couldn't stand much longer of living off bread crumbs and feeling too weak to stand. Hermione couldn't blame her for that.

"What will you do?" Hermione probed gently.

"Can I do it? Can I really do something knowing that if this war ends in our favor I'll never be able to look at myself again?"

"That's up to you."

Hermione didn't want to lose her friend. She had clung to Leslie and Anna since they connected with each other. They had slowly dulled the ache in her heart from leaving the boys behind. It would never be completely filled by the girls but if Leslie left the ache would grow stronger.

"Do you think this will end anytime soon?"

"Honestly?" Hermione asked and only responded after Leslie had nodded, "I think the only way for this to end soon would be for all of us to die. Which could happen at any time. When I was on the run I told Ron these towns would be terrible. I knew here we would all be sitting ducks."

Her honesty did little to comfort Leslie. In fact it did little for either of them. Hermione's mind was filled with the fear of losing her friend, but which would be worse. Could she survive knowing Leslie was merely taken as a slave, or dead. Dead the girl still had her integrity, her dignity… but life might just be worth losing everything for. Hermione held Leslie in her arms. They were the two who knew what would happen. Anna might have her optimism but Leslie had a clear vision of the world around them. She and Hermione leaned on each other, and Hermione was about to lose her forever.

**A.N.:** Well that is it for another chapter of NJC. I really hope everyone enjoys the developing plot .


	7. The Human Line Up

**Author's Note**: Hello again everyone! I'm slowly making progress after my computer lost the story. I'm so sad it's taking so much longer to get things posted than I would've liked! Hopefully I can kick a few things into high gear and get things going quickly.

**THANK YOU**! to those who have reviewed recent chapters. Lizziemarie0529, Libocatgrl88, Daniiibabiii, andherestograce. To answer Triggbc's concern Ginny and harry will comeinto play but the story is from Hermione's perspective so we won't be hearing about them or possibly seeing them until Hermione does .

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, or the quotes used at the beginning of chapters. This story contains some dark themes and topics, if that isn't for you please don't read. I am aiming for a less child-like war story.

**October 31st 1999**

**"I am constantly amazed by man's inhumanity to man." ~ Primo Levi**

Months had gone by without Leslie and soon Anna never talked about it. It seemed the sudden disappearance had shaken Anna to her core. Hermione had explained, after months of questioning on Anna's part, what had truly happened and Anna had never been the same. Leslie had such little faith in their ability to win she had sold herself over to the devil.

Hermione understood why it affected Anna so deeply. She was a young girl, who had most likely dreamed of happiness with her one true love and babies. But their world was no fairy tale, and love and babies were out of the question. Hermione was sure that Anna spent many days pondering what she would do if she was every given the same option.

Hermione didn't like to admit it but she thought of it often. Would she allow herself to be taken the way Leslie had, or would she remain true to who she believed herself to be? With the way the town was crumbling around them she couldn't believe she would last much longer without being taken in.

People had been dropping right and left. Some because of illness, other malnourishment, and some because the Death Eaters required a bit of fun. It scared Hermione how crowded the town still was even after so many had passed on. It seemed anytime someone died there was someone else to fill their bed. There was no time to mourn the dead, if there was a bed free someone would take it.

Hermione was surprised she and Anna had made it through the summer. Without Leslie's help they hadn't gotten extra food. Sure Leslie helped them through most of the summer, but Hermione's body had barely adjusted to eating so little again.

"508" someone from another bed area called out in the night.

Anna turned but hardly responded with the person who spoke to her.

It was how they addressed each other for the most part. It had been sometime in November when a group of teens were killed because they refused to accept the number on their arms as a label. People had grown stir crazy, and the teens were the first to rebel. But the Death Eaters had seen to it that no one would question their authority again.

Each teen had been killed in the dirt street and anyone who attempted to move them was killed as well. It had been almost two weeks before the Death Eaters finally order some of the men to carry the bodies away. No one had gotten over the smell of dead flesh for days even after the bodies were moved into the trenches.

Hermione could only assume that was what the purpose of the trenches had been all along. The men continued digging, avoiding the areas where bodies were 'buried.' Hermione had been the first to say what they had all been thinking, 'They're making us dig our own graves!' but people hadn't taken well to the honesty, no one had been able to speak with her the way Leslie had, so she remained quiet.

Since the Name Massacre no one had dared use their given name outside of the housing building. But even at night when the Death Eaters weren't there some found it hard to say each other's names. Hermione insisted on calling everyone by their given name as often as she could, or at least the people she knew. But only Anna returned the sentiment that is when she managed to address Hermione at all.

MB4000508, Hermione had quickly learned Anna's number. And during her time in the town she had even come to understand how the numbers were organized. The numbers marked on their arms had been a big discussion shortly after the killings.

MB: mudblood, it was the most logical explanation. Hermione had been the one to figure the next number out. In all of the camp she was the only person whose number started with a one. After a few nights of debating with some of the old men she had realized it was their ranking. She had been a No. 1 desirable. From there they were sorted in alphabetical order. The largest number Hermione had seen so far was MB4000825 and belonged to Adrian Zywiec an old man nearing 110 who had lived in Poland before he learned of his magic nearly a century ago.

Hermione had been devastated when she had met the man. He could have lived to be 150 as a muggleborn wizard, but because of the condition of the town his life was nearing its end. Hermione didn't think it was fair to have survived so much just to die like a caged bird.

"Life is worth living," Anna had started her mantra again, "this war will end, we will be free, everything will be fine."

The other people on the fourth floor had taken to yelling at her every night before falling asleep. Even Hermione had told her to shut up on a few occasions. It was nice she had some small thing left to cling to but the mantra annoyed everyone else.

The nights were starting to get hard. Everything had gotten colder and the thin blankets from the summer were hardly giving anyone any relief. Hermione could hardly believe she'd spent the last winter in the woods. Her body was reacting so poorly to the winter and this time she had a roof over her head.

Less people cried and moaned as they fell asleep now compared to when she had first arrived. Babies would still cry out for their parents but the adults and teens even the small children had all come to realize: this problem wasn't going away.

Crying wasn't helping them one bit. Hermione had at one point been determined to figure a way out, but it seemed that all efforts made by other people led to a very public death. In a few more months she may consider the death worth it, but she still had a hope of finding Harry and Ron alive one day –a hope that would soon run out.

The mornings were just as hard as the nights. There was always one person who informed them what day it was, but the simple morning task always seemed to bring people's moods down.

"It's Halloween." Anna said as she comprehended the date.

A holiday that Hermione had enjoyed thoroughly when she was younger. But it held no meaning while locked away. The joy of Halloween was something the younger generation of children would never understand. There was nothing special about it anymore.

"It's just another day." Hermione corrected her.

Anna looked up at her with sad eyes. Her optimism was quickly failing her. She had been in Mudblood Town for over a year and Hermione thought she might only just be realizing that this could be forever. Everything had changed, they were both losing weight quickly without the extra food from…

That was another thing, they never mentioned Leslie anymore. No one did. For Hermione and Anna it was just too painful to realize the ally they had lost. But for many of the others who knew the truth Leslie was seen as a traitor who sold out for a bit more food.

Most people in town had stopped following the rules they had been given. Not everyone went to work every day and some days no one would. They would hide away in the housing building hoping to wake up from the never ending nightmare. No one went unpunished for the crime, but few had died because of it.

Hermione just found herself apathetic about work. She could hardly bring herself to care about the needlework that never went anywhere. The women had stopped working on clothing for themselves and had been ordered to do patterns that Hermione was sure no one used. It was just busy work, the same as the large trenches the men worked on.

"Are we leaving the room today?" Anna asked.

Hermione knew she was talking to her even though Anna refused to say her name. They mainly spoke to each other ignoring the rest of their fellow prisoners. She could only shrug not being sure what they may do that day.

They could venture to the dining building but she knew there would be little food to eat anyway. Her body was tired, if she had her way she would sleep forever. It was all she seemed to have the energy to do. And many others felt the same way.

"We can't waste away in this room." Anna challenged.

It was true. There were a few others who seemed to have resigned themselves to starving to death in bed rather than face the Death Eaters again. Hermione didn't want that for herself, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to face the Death Eaters yet, either.

"Maybe we can see if there is any food this morning."

"It's hardly morning, but that sounds fine."

She was right. They had slept in well past noon. It was more common of everyone to sleep as late as they could. If they didn't wake till after lunch then that was only one meal to eat (or starve though) and only a few hours of work before they had to be inside for dark.

Hermione pushed herself out of the cot, which took far more energy than it should have. Anna had a good point, she really was going to waste away if she didn't start changing things. She had been so set on fighting everything the Death Eaters were doing but somewhere along the way she had lost faith just like everyone else.

There wasn't much to keep their faith in winning the war going. No escape plans had worked, no news from the outside world. The town was more of a dome bubble that prevented anything from getting in or out. The Death Eaters were sure to know everything that was happening, but for all Hermione knew the Boy-Who-Lived could be dead. It wasn't as if the Death Eaters were sharing information with the muggleborns.

"Come on, let's go." Hermione said taking the lead.

She was surprised when there was a little bit of food in the dining building. But then again, most people just stayed in bed all day or worked through meals. If there was no one coming to take the food it was understandable that there would be some of the slop left.

She and Anna ate quietly, not paying any attention to the Death Eater who hovered over them as they ate. Hermione assumed they would need to go to the factory for a while since they had been seen out.

"All Mudbloods will report to the common road. All Mudbloods, report to the common road."

The announcement was similar to when they called away individuals by number. Hermione wasn't sure what was going on but she knew it couldn't be good. There were some people who could barely leave their bed let alone go stand in the road for a long period of time. She was lucky she had gotten a little food in her or she might not have been able to stay vertical.

And most of the children had been hiding out since the summer began. Only the teens had gone to work in months, and that was only because they were kind enough to ease the workload on the elders.

Anna gave Hermione a look but they both reported to the road as quickly as they could. They were there before most everyone else. Hundreds of people formed a crowd in the street and Hermione was sure that everyone hadn't even bothered to listen to the message.

Mothers held onto their children's hands tightly, scared of what might happen if the kids ran about. Teens remained stoic, too frightened to speak. And the adults in general looked around questioning what could be going on that was so important.

"I haven't seen so many of us since the fire." Anna noted aloud.

The fire had been before Hermione had arrived, and cost many their lives as they struggled to get out of the building through the one exit it provided. But Anna had to be right, because Hermione had never seen so many of the muggleborns. In fact she hadn't even been sure there were that many of them.

Major stood in front of the group of Death Eaters. They looked small in number compared to how many muggleborns were in the street. But they had wands and the muggleborns didn't. The gates allowed them to leave, but muggleborns were trapped. Fighting a losing battle wouldn't help anyone. Everyone knew there was no way out, so they stood in fear.

"Go check the buildings, kill anyone who remains."

Hermione's heart dropped at his words. If she and Anna hadn't already been in the dining building she may have stayed in bed despite the order. Screams could be heard faintly as the Death Eaters searched each floor of all the buildings.

This was it. They were finally rounding them up for the slaughter. Or at the very least killing anyone who disobeyed.

"Mudbloods under ten come forward!" Major yelled.

Mothers fought as their children stepped forward. Cries of pain came from many women's mouths as their little ones were ripped from their arms by Death Eaters. Hermione remained still, not allowing herself to be affected, emotion would not be looked upon kindly.

"Please, please not my baby!" one mother cried out above all the other.

"If any Mudblood has a problem, go with them." Major shouted.

Many mothers ran to their children and held them in their arms. Hermione did her best estimation and guessed that there were near one hundred children, and seventy women had joined them. Their departure barely put a dent in the number of muggleborns crowding the street but without the babies cries things had silenced.

"Mudbloods over seventy, come forward."

Another large chuck of people moved forward and this time no one fought. There was no one to shout of their distress, people watched silently as the elders walked forward. Soon they followed the same path the mothers and children had taken and were out of sight.

There were still around six hundred left standing in the street silently waiting to discover what was going on. School aged children looked around desperately trying to see if their parents remained.

"Mudbloods 20 and under form a line!" Major shouted out.

An older Death Eater surveyed the line, calling out only a few numbers and sending those children off like the others. Hermione had to control her stomach to prevent herself from throwing up the little she had eaten only two hours before. She knew what was happening.

They were getting rid of the weak. The young and old were being shipped off somewhere, and anyone who looked too sickly would follow. They were trimming down the numbers in the town, either to greet new members or just to start the next stage of getting rid of muggleborns.

"Pinch your cheeks, subtly don't draw attention. You need to bring color back to your skin." Hermione warned Anna.

The two of them were hardly the smallest in the group but they were sickly pale. Anna followed her instructions even though she seemed confused about what she was doing.

Major slowly went through every age group. Hermione and Anna had been told to stay behind, which did little to put Hermione at ease.

"A new town has been opened. Those selected are being transferred. The rest of you get inside its past dark!" Major shouted causing a rush of motion between the five hundred people left.

"You got us stuck here!" Anna called out angrily to Hermione.

"Oh please, they aren't transferring anyone. Don't be so naïve, you're alive here. Off wherever they're going they're all dead. Get it into your head! I thought you were finally done with the foolish optimism, they found the weak and the sick and they shipped them off to their deaths. Stop acting like a child."

The night was hardly over. People in each of the buildings went through searching for the people that had been foolish enough to stay behind. There was little that could be done while it was dark out but before they went to sleep they had all the dead gathered on the first floor. The fact that moving the dead around was cavalier was hardly surprising to Hermione after so many months in the town. This town killed people, some physically and others had just died inside.

**Author's Note: **Well there goes another chapter. I'm hoping the next will be up soon.


	8. For a Loaf of Bread

**Author's Note**: Once again I am so sorry for how long it has taken to get a new chapter up. Here is the next chunk of the story. I hope you enjoy it. I know it is still a lot of just Hermione, but we're barreling through.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I am not JKR and am making no profits off of this

**Warning**: This is a dark story. It is rated M for a reason. There is a more realistic version of a war happening. Please read only if you are of age and/or capable of handling a darker storyline.

**November 10th 1999**

**"Cries for help are frequently inaudible." ~Tom Robbins**

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked Anna, not sure if the young girl understood what she could be getting herself into.

"I don't think we have another choice. We've thought it all through. But I don't think you should be the distraction."

It was foolish of Hermione to put herself in the spotlight. Between the two of them she was the one Death Eaters knew. Anna was more invisible because she hadn't participated in the war. But Hermione was hoping that her infamous title would be what kept Anna safe. Plus she was quite sure she was stronger than Anna.

"You are stealthier." Hermione lied.

"But they could kill you." Anna hesitated, she had really hoped Hermione would switch jobs with her.

"Then I'll die and you get double the bread. The worst they've ever given someone for clumsiness is a Crucio or two. That might be bad but I can take it."

Since Halloween they had been discussing the need to gain more weight. If there was another round up and they were this skinny neither had much hope of making through. Anna had been the one to suggest stealing like Leslie used to. It had been a shock to Hermione, innocent Anna suggesting theft and mentioning Leslie in one go.

The plan was simple enough, and Leslie had explained to Hermione where the extra food was kept. If everything went well they would have two loaves of bread before the night was over. Anna had suggested sharing with others, but Hermione had led her down a more selfish path. After all they needed to look out for themselves first.

"What if I get caught?" Anna asked, last minute nervousness taking over.

Hermione wasn't sure what to say. If Anna got caught she would be dead. There was no question. The Death Eaters wouldn't wait around for an explanation from her. But that hardly seemed like a positive pep talk.

"How 'bout you don't get caught." Hermione offered.

Anna smiled slightly as she nodded her head. Everyone else was going about their day normally. Some stayed in bed, but most had been scared by the round up. It seemed to shock people back into following all the proper rules. Hermione and Anna were among the few who hadn't returned to work.

But on Hermione's order they did sit in the sun every day. Hermione insisted that when the sun was high they let the sun soak into as much of their skin as possible. If they could get a good color it would help them in a round up.

The round up had been a wakeup call for her. Less than a year had gone by and she was practically stuck in her bed. She had given in, the thing she had promised herself never to do. She had given up on the hope of finding Harry and Ron, which had left her empty. She had doomed herself to never making it out alive.

But that all changed after the round up. She and Anna spoke a few nights later after the seriousness of it all had sunken into Anna's mind. Hermione was sure there was a way out alive. There had to be a weak point. The Death Eaters didn't view them as a threat which meant there had to be a weak point somewhere. They just needed to find it.

Anna was still hesitant about the escape plan, it wasn't well thought out and if they never found the weak point they would have wasted a lot of time searching. She still thought there was a chance of someone coming to the rescue. But Hermione refused to be a damsel in distress any longer.

If there were still people fighting the Death Eaters they clearly weren't powerful enough to do anything; that or they were too incompetent to figure out where the victims were. Hermione would rather assume no one was coming for her than hope for an imbecile.

They had time to search for a weak point. The random, pointless killings had stopped after the round up. It seemed they wanted to make sure they still had hundreds of trapped muggleborns to play with. But as long as things were calm Hermione knew they could manage. They could pretend it was like the first few months when food was plentiful and people were ignorantly happy.

As long as they could steal food without being caught they would survive.

"Thanks, that's helpful."

"It's all I've got for now." Hermione smiled.

"Okay, you distract them. I casually go into the dining building, and assuming that everyone will run to see the commotion, I'll be alone. Back right door, left hall, third door on the right. In and out as quickly as possible."

"Third door on the left, Anna. And hide the bread under your shirt. It'll look odd but less suspicious than holding two loaves of bread."

"Right, right, the left. I swear I've got it."

Hermione had her doubts. But it was Anna's plan and she would go along with it if the younger girl felt comfortable. Anna was an adult now, of age and capable of making decisions that affected her life. Hermione just had to hope the distraction would be enough to draw the attention of all the Death Eaters.

They hadn't planned what to do if the man from the dining building doesn't rush outside. Typically the buffoon always went running to see what was happening, but Major had been yelling at him about abandoning his post too often.

It was all a gamble that they had been planning for almost two weeks. Hermione would have liked to have more time but she was starting to get too hungry to just stand by and wait. She and Anna needed food, and her renewed determination was just solid enough to push her into a foolish act.

Anna left first, positioning herself conveniently near the dining building while still managing to look as though she was doing something. If people got suspicious of her before Hermione's accident there would be no point to the plan. Anna could feel her heart pounding but she did her best to keep her breathing under control. Hermione had warned her that breathing patterns could give them away. She needed to appear normal, nervousness wouldn't help her.

Hermione had gone to the factory casually walking by Anna with only a small glance. What she needed was inside but getting out into the street would be the difficult part. The factory was mostly empty, she could hear the few women working away upstairs but thankfully the main floor was a ghost town.

Hermione walked carefully over to the large glass bowl the women used during some of the dying processes. Once a week someone would take the bowl to the bath and wash the extra dye out. The whole purpose of the glass was to see the color of the dye before doing big portions, if the glass was stained it would be no good. Luckily for Hermione there was clear dye buildup on the glass bowl.

She took it from its place and walked back into the crowded dirt street. She knew the working women would hate her for what she was about to do, surely the Death Eaters wouldn't replace anything a muggleborn carelessly broke. Yes, Hermione had a feeling she was about to be some people's least favorite person.

She waited until she was near the dining building, if she was right outside the chance of the buffoon running to see the scene would be larger. She needed to give Anna as much of a chance as possible. One foot after the other she walked along the dirt road. Most people overlooked her completely, it wasn't odd to see one of the women taking the bowl to be cleaned. But soon enough all eyes were on her.

Carefully she stepped on her own right foot tumbling forward while holding the bowl out in front of her. If she didn't break it then the plan wouldn't work. In the split seconds before she hit the ground Hermione realized the only way of guaranteeing the glass broke was if she landed on it. All she could think was how much this afternoon was going to hurt.

With the glass bowl tight to her stomach she fell to the ground with a hard thud. She pushed at the bowl in the last few seconds giving it a little more force to hit the ground with. She screamed out as the bowl shattered into not only her palms but her chest and stomach as well.

Just as she had expected many people came running, including the buffoon. She couldn't see Anna anywhere and assumed the young girl had run off for her portion of the heist. Hermione continued to call out, the scene was fake but her pain was real. She wasn't sure what would happen once Major and the other more competent Death Eaters arrived before her.

She sat up letting the crowd see the blood seeping through her shirt and out of her palms. Shards of glass still stuck in place. She could hear the concerned whispers of the other muggleborns but so far all the buffoon had managed to do was laugh.

Her cries had clearly been loud enough because without fail Major and his lackeys had run –in a slow manner –over to the scene. Major looked at her with disgust in his eyes, not that that was much different from every other day.

"What were you doing, Mudblood!"

"The bowl needed to be cleaned before the next dye. I must have tripped, please."

Hermione hated begging to be healed. It was one of the worst feelings to be indebted to a Death Eater. A feeling she had sworn never to feel again. But this was worth it, this was for food. And if Anna could steal two full loaves they could snack for days without worries about anything.

"Idiot!" Major yelled.

The crowd seemed to back away, most likely fearing the backlash of his anger. But still everyone's eyes remained on them. Hermione hadn't actually been expecting to be healed. She had assumed she and Anna would need to treat her wounds before they ate. But a warm surge flowed through her and if her palms were any indication the Major had cleared the glass away and closed her cuts.

Everyone seemed to be silenced. An act of kindness was not a Death Eaters way, certainly not Major's way. Hermione tensed knowing he wasn't going to do something just out of the goodness of his ice cold heart.

The pain that flowed through her when he hit her with the first round of Crucio was ten times worse than the glass. She had to think of Anna's safety just to keep herself from begging to be left alone. Anna wasn't a stealthy girl nor was she quick, she would need time to get in and out of the back room unnoticed.

Muggleborns watched her writhe in pain out of fear of what might happen if they stepped away. Each Death Eater in the circle seemed to take pleasure in her pain. She was Hermione Granger, everyone knew it. They would enjoy doing their worst until it was time to take her life.

By the third round Hermione wasn't sure if she would be able to stand again. Major was clearly making an example out of her. Anyone clumsy enough to break things and beg for their mistake to be fixed would regret it. Hermione knew she did. The promise of food was all that keep her pushing through.

She was able to catch her breath when the spell was released. Major stood over her, his bulky frame even bigger now that she had lost so much weight.

"Hermione Granger, you of all the Mudbloods will learn your place if it's the last thing you do."

Hermione did her best to look up at him but she was fairly worn out from the torture. The buffoon walked back to the dining building and Hermione could only hope Anna had had enough time. One of the few mothers left in the town helped Hermione to her feet and assisted her all the way back to her room.

Anna jumped when she saw how bad off the older girl was. She ran over taking Hermione from the woman's arms and helping her into bed. They were left alone, possibly out of respect for Hermione's injuries.

"Did you?" Hermione tried to ask.

"I got it, three loaves instead of two. I think I was back here before they had finished with you. No one even noticed I was out."

"Good."

Hermione felt tired. She wanted to eat a piece of the bread in celebration for dinner but she could hardly keep her eyes open. Anna helped her get as comfortable as possible to fall asleep. It hadn't been easy but Hermione finally felt like she was fighting back, she finally felt like she wasn't a mindless drone within the town. Maybe there was hope, yet.

**A.N.: **Well there is the next bit. Hermione still has a journey to take in the camp before she will be ready to move on to the next phase. But I have already been writing chapters with the rest of the trio in them. We're only about six chapters away from the next part of the story.

**THANK YOU! **annaea3077 I am so glad you feel the story is captivating. I hope you stick with it despite my slow updating process. lizziemarie0529 I hope you continue reading, thank you for the review.


	9. Nothing New About It

**Author's Note**: We are building our way up to Part Two of the story. After this there are only four more chapters before Harry, Ginny, and Ron come into the story. I know some of you might feel like there is a lot of exposition, or that the story is moving too slowly but there is a reason for that. This part of Hermione's life feels as though it will never end, and I don't want you to worry that this is a majority of the story. It is not. We will move past this shortly.

**Warning**: This is a M rated story for a reason. The war outlook is much darker than the real HP books and mature and taboo topics will be addressed in later chapters. Please be warned.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. Anything you recognize is owned by JK who I am not.

**"****It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live." ~Marcus Aurelius**

**January 2nd, 2000**

Solitary. She had managed to get herself thrown back in solitary. She hadn't been a prisoner of loneliness for nearly as long as when she first arrived. Only a few days, but the days were starting to run together.

She had recognized the food man as the same one from when she first arrived in April. That had only been months ago. It was strange to think how many changes she had gone through in only a few months.

Hermione hadn't intended to end up alone again. During Anna's second bread run they needed another distraction. Hermione knew she would need to do something bigger if she had any hope of getting the buffoon to run to her again. Clumsiness wouldn't be enough.

Hermione laughed to herself wondering what Anna would say when she got out. Hopefully Anna had gotten the bread, thus making solitary worth it. But Hermione had gone a step too far. She was lucky she only received a small punishment. Honestly she was starting to think they weren't allowed to kill her yet.

It had been something she thought about a lot in the few days she had been alone. There had been no news about the death of Harry Potter, something that would surely be spread even around their news less town. She had started to hope that they had a plan. Maybe the Death Eaters thought themselves clever.

If they waited long enough, to either break the trio's spirits or at least the rest of the country's then they would feel they had the upper hand. Most likely Harry, Ron, and herself would be killed in some public manner. The No. 1 desirables couldn't just be done away with without a word.

So Hermione was counting on the fact that they wouldn't kill her until Voldemort was ready to all but do it himself. Obviously she was going to need to distract the Death Eaters again, and she didn't like the idea of being killed for it.

Anna would be worried, or possibly even caught herself. They didn't announce when they took people to isolation, she might think Hermione was dead. It wouldn't be too difficult to imagine considering all the girl had yelled to get people's attention.

_"__This is ridiculous! We're starving away and slaving away, and for what? No one will tell us what is going on outside these walls! Tell me, Sergeant Buffoon, Major Bulks-a-lot, what is going on? I am Hermione Damn Granger and I refuse to accept this! We can't sit back and let them win, we have to fight until we can't fight anymore! Don't let them treat us like cattle for the herding, we are people, we are human beings, and damn it we are good witches and wizards! I am the brightest witch of my age, I might be the brightest damn witch of the century and I won't stand back any longer!"_

_The crowd around her was shocked. Many of the other muggleborns were trying to get her to be quiet but it was too late. She was in too deep. The buffoon had already noticed her and she was sure Major would be on his way. She kept screaming and kicking up a storm to the best of her abilities. Anna had run into the building minutes earlier and if her last timing had been any indication she would only need another minute._

_Major looked pissed beyond belief that he had to deal with her again. But for whatever reason he did nothing. He stood with a smug look on his face and waited for her to finish. It wasn't normal, there had to be something else to it but Hermione would take the opportunity to buy Anna more time._

_She looked around and saw a few people nodding with her, clearly she wasn't the only one who was silently ranting in their head every day. But Major didn't seem very interested in her by the time she was done._

_"__Surely you've learned by now where your place is, Mudblood."_

_With a quick spell Hermione was on the ground staring up at the sky until Major stood over her._

_"__Don't think I don't know how to best punish you."_

Hermione actually chuckled as she thought about it. If a good punishment was a while in solitary she would handle it well. In fact there was a certain calm that came with time away from the crowd of frightened muggleborns that was nice. In solitary she could think and allow her mind to wander without fear of interruption. She could sleep without the cries of a teen whose mother was 'transferred' with a younger sibling, or a father who had lost everything invading her dreams.

Her only worry over the last few days had been Anna. The girl wasn't strong enough to survive on her own. She was too trusting of what people told her. Hermione feared she would get out of solitary and learn that Anna was told she could travel to another camp and just agreed. Without Hermione there the girl might truly begin to believe in the other camps again.

If it was possible Hermione was actually beginning to miss her old cot. The hard floor of solitary was even less comfortable than she remembered. She had only been fed twice in the five days she had been there. But that was still more food than she would have been guaranteed outside in the town. She just couldn't place how this was considered a punishment for her. If anything it was like a nice vacation.

The town was hardly a pleasant place to be, with about five hundred people all scrambling to survive and trying to get over the round up and deaths that had taken almost six hundred already. It was still odd to her that the town still seemed crowded. They had been cut in half but there was still no room.

Maybe it was some magic of the town, never having enough space for however many people were there. Or maybe new people had been thrown into the mix without anyone noticing. Everyone had been more preoccupied with themselves in recent months. Hermione certainly cared less about the population as a whole. She needed to get herself and Anna out, from there she'd be able to find Harry and stop the war.

At some point during her confinement that had become her number one plan. It was vague, and would require a lot of rethinking each time she got close to finishing one step, but it was something. Anna and Harry would get along, she thought, Anna's happy attitude had calmed itself but she could still be the optimistic sister their group had never had. Harry had always been quick on his feet, Ron had a temper, Hermione had books, but it could do them some good to have someone who was truly happy around them.

Hermione had always thought of Harry as a brother. Now Anna had become a younger sister to her and she just knew the girl would meld with the trio. There could finally be another person around that didn't just talk about flying and food.

Hermione laughed, realizing she had talked about food quite often in the months she had been in Mudblood Town. So many years of telling Ron to find another subject of interest but she finally understood. Food should be cherished. If she ever got out of the town she would never take for granted the food she could have.

Anna and she were getting closer to their escape plan. They had agreed to search the grounds for any weak points, or unfenced areas. The trenches were the most likely place. Hermione had to wonder if any of the men had attempted to dig under the fence. That could be an important question to ask if she could be subtle enough with it. The less people that knew about the escape plan the better. She didn't need more attention drawn to her than necessary.

Hermione could feel the pressure on her bladder. She knew she'd need to pee again soon, but she hated how quickly the room smelled like urine. Instead she forced her eyes shut and let sleep take her over. Hopefully the feeling would go away at least while she slept. That would give her a little longer without the putrid smell gaining power.

When she opened her eyes she couldn't be sure how long she had been out. She yawned trying to ignore the pushing feeling in her stomach. There was no reason she had to pee right away she could relax for a few moments at least. She looked around the room as she had every day she was awake. There wasn't much to it, cold walls, hard floor, open door…

The door was open. Hermione couldn't believe she hadn't been awake for when they first released her. She was free to leave, or that's what she assumed based on her last stay. Knowing she wouldn't be stuck any longer she went quickly over to the corner to relieve herself before leaving the room once and for all. Well once and for all, for now.

If she was stuck in the town much longer she was sure she would wind up in confinement again. It just seemed to be the way of things. She had no doubt that she would need to do something else that would require her to get punished, and if the Major thought this was a real punishment then she would happily take them.

Others received death for merely speaking up, she was trapped in a room for less than a week after everything she had yelled. Yeah, she thought to herself, something else has to be going on there.

It was almost dark when she got outside, something she was glad for. Remembering how much the sun had burned after her weeks in solitary she didn't want to revisit that experience anytime soon. But it almost being dark meant she needed to hurry into her building to sleep.

She wasn't sure she'd be able to sleep after how much time she had spent snoozing alone. It was bound to be the new year already and she had slept through it, not that she would have been able to celebrate. But she planned for this year to be it, she would get out and by Christmas she will have found Harry. It was a goal she refused to give up on. If she put her mind to it there had to be a way.

No one else was out in the street as she walked across the dirt towards the building she and Anna had called… well not home… but they had lived in since the beginning. Even once she was inside everything seemed quiet. It was odd, she almost felt alone still, which she knew couldn't be true.

Walking up the four flights of stairs had gotten easier once she and Anna had started stealing bread again. Not even a week in solitary and the stairs proved to be more difficult for her again. She wasn't sure how she thought she could be on the run if she couldn't walk up a few stairs.

With the door to the fourth floor open she could hear people chatting away at their beds. It was the one time people felt free enough to do so, even if they still referred to each other by numbers. Anna was just sitting on her bed staring into space. Hermione should have assumed the girl wouldn't talk to anyone else in her absence.

Anna had seemed so sociable in those first few days, everyone had liked her. But with Hermione and Leslie by her side she had become withdrawn she had relied on the other two girls to be her source of strength and entertainment. With Leslie gone it wasn't a shock that she would sit alone without Hermione.

"Anna." Hermione said gently as she got closer to the beds.

"You're alive!"

Anna jumped up wrapping her arms around Hermione's neck and pulling her into a death grip hug. It had been a long time since Hermione had been embraced in such a way, it felt good to be reminded of a hint of normalcy.

"Of course I am, I got solitary again. How that was my punishment I'll never know!" Hermione laughed, but only slightly, "Did you get the stuff?"

"Yeah but…" Anna didn't finish.

Hermione watched the girl sit back down on the bed looking guilty. She knew she shouldn't have joked about the solitary, Anna was too sensitive about things. Hermione could only survive the town by laughing at what she couldn't understand. But Anna took things to heart.

"What?" Hermione pushed for the girl to finish.

"I don't think solitary was your punishment."

Hermione looked at her with intrigue. It didn't make sense but she knew Anna would have a good enough reason for saying it.

"Hermione," it must be serious Anna hadn't said anyone's names since the kids were killed, "people were killed while you were locked up."

"Oh no, did we know them?"

"Not really. It was only five this time. They were people who had heard you shouting."

"A lot of people heard me shouting." Hermione countered.

"There were only five who agreed with you out loud though. Major made everyone come watch this death line and he kept talking about how he would save our precious Hermione Granger because he knew she couldn't save us now, but it was a trade."

Hermione knew what she meant but her mind wouldn't comprehend the words.

"He killed them in your place." Anna said plainly.

Hermione's heart dropped.

**THANK YOU!** As always to the wonderful lizziemarie0529 for the review. It is a pleasure hearing from you. And rairio thank you for your review I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

**A.N.:** Well we have gotten another chapter and it didn't take me a lifetime to post it. I have been working hard to keep the story developing so I can keep updating you quickly. Please review.


	10. Surviving for Yourself

**Author's Note:** I am the world's worst updater. I feel horrible for how long everyone has to wait for a new chapter. Please understand that there are parts of my life that are spinning out of control, and it makes it difficult for me to sit and write as often as I would like.

**Warning:** This is an M rated story for a reason. The war outlook is much darker than the real HP books and mature and taboo topics will be addressed in later chapters. Please be warned.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of Harry Potter (or Sirius Black and Fred Weasley would be alive and embarrassing Hermione by flirting shamelessly with her) I also am making no money off this story. Basically I'm broke all around and own nothing for myself.

**THANK YOU!** andherestograce thank you for your review. I realize I'm updating very slowly but life gets in the way at times, and I hope you continue to enjoy. Keite thank you for pointing that error out. I hadn't even noticed I had typed it wrong, I was just reading it correctly in my head. catsgotmytongue I'm glad you find the story interesting so far without Draco making an appearance. I have everything planned out, and hopefully I will be in a position to update more regularly with summer so we can get to his plotline quickly! lizziemarie0529 thank you so much for those kind words! Lilykees I agree that Hermione took what was the easy way out, but within this story the Hogwarts Battle did not play out as it does in the books. The Order was even less prepared for the fight, and Hermione was attempting to be strategic and save their energy for a time when they may actually win. I do want to clarify though, that Hermione and Ron did not leave Harry. He was with them until all three were captured and Hermione was separated. I believe Harry is able to understand being forced to separate, however I agree: I hope he found Ginny quickly.

* * *

**January 2nd, 2000**

_"Nothing is better for self-esteem than survival." ~Martha Gellhorn_

* * *

She was having a hard time breathing. Five people were dead, five people were dead because of what she had said. Her mind wasn't wrapping around the idea. She had spouted off in an effort to cause a scene and because of her five people were dead.

"Hermione," Anna said grabbing her face, "if you aren't willing to give it all up then nothing will change."

"I was willing to give up my own life so you could have bread, not five innocent people! There was no reason they had to die."

She had pulled away from Anna in an attempt to catch her breath but it still hadn't worked. The whole room seemed fuzzy. It wasn't as if she didn't feel guilty enough about the whole war. Ron, as much as she loved him, had made her feel insanely responsible for everything that was happening to the world. She pulled Harry away, if it wasn't for her things could have been different.

But she thought she had finally gotten past that insecurity. She thought she understood that she had done what needed to be done. There were no more time turners she couldn't go back and change the past. But this… these peoples deaths could have been prevented. None of those five nameless people would have died had she not caused a scene.

Hermione stood up pacing the bedroom. At this point what could she do? There was no going back to save them and there would never be justice for their murders while Voldemort was in control. Everything was broken and backwards.

Hermione had been so sure during her days alone that Major had no clue how to punish her. But clearly she was the one in the wrong. What he had done would haunt her, she couldn't move past it. She had only known for a few minutes and it was near driving her insane.

Anna was talking nonsense to her but she wasn't comprehending any of it. The younger girl looked panicked but Hermione could only focus on her own thoughts and fears. The war was only continuing because of her. She had pulled the boys away and then she had gone quietly into the town until she almost couldn't leave her bed. She had become neutral, and if there was anything more dangerous than a villain it was a large body of neutrals.

What if she had started an uprising during the round up? What if they could have taken the few Death Eaters who guarded them in the town? Could she have saved Leslie in some way? The town had dwindled in size and it was her fault. She couldn't get the words out of her head; her fault, all her fault.

She hadn't even made up her mind before her feet started walking away from the bed. Anna followed, screaming words she didn't understand at her. Hermione still didn't know what she was going to do, but she sure as hell wasn't going to sit around and do nothing. To long she had sat and done nothing while people around her died. This time she wouldn't stand for it.

There had been a time when she would have stood up to anyone who tried to oppose her, she defended Harry and stood up for the first years, she tricked Umbridge and yelled at Remus when she had thought he was a traitor. When had she lost her voice, when did she lose the ability to stand up for everyone? No more, she had once said that she wouldn't let the town get to her, that she would fight and remind herself everyday of what she needed to be doing. Well somewhere down the road that mantra had been forgotten, but no longer.

She couldn't change the last few months but she would certainly change how the next few hours would go. She wouldn't stand by and wait for Voldemort to kill off everyone, he had gotten away with enough. Now was the time to solidify her plan of escaping and finding Harry. It was a new year, a new century and she'd be damned if she let it pass her by. She was going to survive, no more sitting on the sidelines she would stand up and fight.

Anna was following her as she nearly flew down the stairs. Hermione could hear Anna's cries that she stop, to not do anything stupid. But the truth was Hermione didn't even know what it was she planned on doing. Her body had reacted quicker than her mind had processed. She knew something needed to happen, but she hadn't gotten much past that fact before she flew into action.

Hermione only stalled when she got to the door that led outside. It was really night by now, if she walked outside there would be no going back. They had been warned about going out past dark, they had seen how some people had been punished.

"Hermione!" Anna hissed at her, "What could you possibly think you could do about this? There isn't anything you can change about what happened, just come to bed."

It was true, but what about what might happen? What about what would happen tomorrow? Hermione had to believe she still held some power in people's minds. If she could just be strong enough to realize what it would take to survive then maybe other people could lean on her strength to get through. Maybe they could even find the strength to overpower the Death Eaters, magic or not.

"If we want this to end we have to be strong, we need the courage to change the world." Hermione spoke more to herself than to Anna.

"You're not in school anymore, Hermione. The punishment for doing something stupid isn't a few house points. One person isn't going to change all this, especially not one mudblood. People won't support you if you do some ridiculous courageous act, they're too afraid."

Hermione was scared, didn't Anna see that? Her chest was pounding from how hard she was breathing. Her eyes could barely stay still as they darted back and forth with every thought she had. She was scared, she was terrified of what might happen to her. But didn't the fate of the world matter more than her own life? She had been fighting for years despite every fear she had ever had, she couldn't stop now just because she had been beaten down.

"Some things are too important to let fear stop you."

It felt like the poetic thing to say after all she was most likely about to walk to her death. If she stepped out of that door there was no telling what would happen to her, especially considering the fact that she just barely got out of solitary. Whether or not she had been right about the Death Eaters not being allowed to kill her another act of defiance might push her luck.

She wasn't sure, she couldn't be sure of anything anymore. But being trapped like a bird in a cage wasn't how she planned to live her life. When she was young she had thought that life in any form would be better than death, but this was no life at all. She was drowning in the town, and it had taken her far too long to realize she could move beyond her fear. She may need to accept that she would be killed but at least she would die standing up for her people.

An alarm sounded the moment she stepped outside. Anna had jumped back into the building but left the door open –it was as much support as she was ready to give to the former Gryffindor's foolish stunt. Hermione pushed forward, trying to block the terrible ringing in her ears from the loud siren.

Major and the others appeared in no time, clearly abandoning whatever duties they might have at night. The alarm silenced once they caught sight of her Hermione assumed one of them had turned it off. She was doing her best to stand tall even though she was weak on her feet. Her head was high but she hadn't looked any of them in the eyes. She wouldn't take the action back but the gravity hit her she was standing one against a couple dozen, one against dozens of wands, one against the world.

"You just can't learn your place. Can you, Mudblood?"

"They were innocent." She spat out. "I'm the one who spoke out, I'm the threat but they were innocent people."

"There's no such thing as an innocent mudblood. They may have paid for your crime, but they deserved to die."

Hermione's jaw tightened in anger. She ran through her mind trying to think of a spell she might have the strength to perform wandless.

"I won't let you hurt anyone else because of me."

"Let me teach her a lesson, Baines." The man to Major's left had eagerly requested.

Hermione felt her legs give out with such a force she knew it hadn't been from her own weakness. She opened her mouth to yell out at them, to yell for help or even just to say a final word but nothing came out. She was frozen in place, down on her knees staring at the men and women who were looking at her like she was a meal.

Major approached her slowly a sneer on his face that rivaled any she had seen before. If there was ever a time he looked more frightening than Voldemort himself it would be then. Her grabbed at her hair and pulled, causing her to silently scream out in pain. Her knees were still stuck to the ground but he was pulling as if he intended to pop her head off. He leaned down only slightly to look her in the eyes.

"You can't kill her, yet. But maybe a lesson is what the pig needs."

Anna watched, horrified, from the doorway. She was too scared to make her presence known but too worried about Hermione to turn away. She couldn't understand why the older girl had acted so foolishly, she couldn't have foreseen a productive ending to such a small unorganized rebellion. Anna covered her face with her hands, parting her fingers so she could still watch Hermione.

The Death Eaters weren't even using magic after the first few minutes. Hermione had screamed out as Crucio after Crucio hit her but that alone hadn't been enough. Anna was sure she was watching them slowly beat the girl to death. It seemed like each one of the Death Eaters took a turn doing their worst to the already frail girl.

Hermione had slipped into unconsciousness quickly enough. Anna was sure she hadn't been awake when one man took a knife to her stomach. There was nothing she could do, to stop them would mean her own death and Anna wasn't that selfless. She wished she could be willing to let it all go but instead she prayed.

As time drug on some of the Death Eaters left. It seemed that once they had their fun they had no interest in watching. The few women had done little to permanently damage Hermione, one had chopped her hair and the other had taken the knife and reopened the wound on Hermione's head. But the men had been more brutal. Anna was sure that almost every bone in Hermione's body had been broken if she hadn't been killed during the process.

The men would shout and talk to each other but from her hiding spot Anna couldn't hear them. She couldn't leave Hermione there to die at their hands alone but she couldn't watch anymore. If no one got to her she would die from the injuries at the very least, but it was a long time until morning.

Anna was thankful Hermione had passed out, enduring everything the Death Eaters had done would have been worse than death. Kicks, hits, the knife… the Cruciatus would have been kinder. The commotion outside was loud, she could hear them all yelling and moving around but what was worse was the moment it all went silent.

"Damn it, I said stop! It was a direct order! Do you want to die just for the fun of killing her? You know our orders the mudblood doesn't die until he's ready for her to. If the Dark Lord wants to make a show of Potter and his precious friends you won't get in the way!"

"But they haven't found them in two weeks. The whole country is ours, Potter and his stupid friends are dead or they would have been found by now."

"That's not your call to make. Drag her into her building the other mudbloods can deal with her when they wake up."

Anna panicked, she couldn't be seen. If they knew she had watched the whole thing she might be killed just for the fun of it. From the sound of things Hermione would need someone to take care of her right away, Anna couldn't risk getting killed and leaving Hermione alone.

She hid in the corner of the stairs, the shadows of the night hiding her but just barely. If the Death Eater wanted to find her all they would need to do was look up. But she sat still and silent as she watched one of the men pull Hermione by the arms across the dirt street and into the building. He pushed her in just enough to close the door behind him and Anna let out a small breath of relief.

She didn't need to walk to Hermione to know how bad off she was. It looked as though the girl might break in half at any moment. There was no way Anna would be able to get her up the stairs, at least not on her own. She didn't know what the right choice was it seemed any move would be a bad one but she couldn't leave Hermione there on the ground. She had already stood by and done nothing, she couldn't do nothing again.

* * *

**A.N. **Thank you to any and everyone who is keeping up with this story on their end. I am hoping that with it being summer I will have more time to sit and write. I also hope that this chapter was well written. I am attempting to describe horrible things and situations without truly going into such detail that my writing suffers because of it.


End file.
